Monash deal to fast-track food exports to China

An agreement between Monash University and China’s biggest food company will open the door for future opportunities in China for Australian food and beverage exporters.

The agreement with the Nutrition and Health Research Institute (NHRI) of China’s state-owned COFCO Corporation is the first signed with an Australian organisation, and will see a strategic partnership established between COFCO NHRI and Monash University’s new multimillion-dollar Food Innovation Centre.

Under the agreement, which is aimed at boosting exports to China, the Food Innovation Centre at Monash will have access to COFCO NHRI’s technical resources, in-depth knowledge of Chinese consumers, regulatory expertise and market delivery platforms to fast-track supply opportunities for Australian exporters.

The Monash centre provides Australia’s food industry, from start-ups and SMEs to large corporations, with technology and product development services including consumer-aided design and research capabilities in areas such as food chemistry, packaging design and food ethics. The centre enables businesses to rapidly export to target markets by acquiring a deeper understanding of middle-class consumers in Asia.

Monash University President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Gardner AO said the centre’s development and the COFCO NHRI agreement reflected Monash’s commitment to helping Australia achieve its food export ambitions.

“Our university will be establishing an elite food industry-focused PhD program and investing in large-scale infrastructure across campus, including a multimillion-dollar space for food product development, innovation incubation support for SMEs and industry–university collaboration within Monash’s state-of-the-art $80m Green Chemical Futures building,” Professor Gardner said.

A key challenge for the Monash centre, Professor Gardner said, would be to support an export culture in Australian SMEs. Crucial to that was the centre’s capacity to provide start-ups and SMEs with a ‘one-stop shop’ range of support services to guide them on how to develop export pathways into Asia.

One of the new technology services that Monash will provide for food industry clients is its $1.8m immersive visualisation space, Cave 2. The facility will enable food companies to visualise their products on the market shelves in both Asia and Australia.