Page 42 - Food&Drink Business magazine September 2022

FOOD EXPORT
60 years of export excellence
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Australian Export Awards, an annual celebration and recognition of the achievements of Australia’s leading exporters, showcasing their sustainable growth through innovation and commitment. Sarkis Khoury from Austrade writes.
1960S – AUSTRALIAN EXPORT AWARDS ARE BORN
IN November 1963, the inaugural Australian Export Awards was held in Canberra. Since then, 1990 Australian businesses have been recognised and 744 awarded a category trophy, among them notable food and beverage exporters.
Presented by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, this year’s awards will again showcase successful Australian export businesses across 13 categories. The Australian Exporter of the Year is then chosen from the category winners.
In 2002, a Hall of Fame award was established to highlight exporters who win their respective category three times. To date, there have been 14 inductees.
One of the first to be inducted was Hardys (formerly BRL Hardy Wine and now part of Accolade Wines – see the August 2022 edition of Food & Drink Business for Hardys’ zero alc range development) in 2002, followed soon after by Casella Wines in 2005.
In celebrating the awards’ 60th year, we take a look back at some past food and beverage exporter category winners and the era they represented, as they helped to shape Australia’s export market.
1970S – SEEKING NEW MARKETS
The awards were created by the Export Development Council, which wanted to recognise Australian businesses having outstanding export success.
By the mid-1960s, Australia’s economy was going from strength to strength. With
the credit squeezes of the
early 1960s behind us, reduced interest rates and relaxed restrictions saw a major rise in imports. The decade also saw the start of Australia’s mining boom.
SUNRICE: AUSTRALIAN EXPORT AWARD WINNER, 1969
SunRice is a major player in the global food market, with leading brands in Australia, New Zealand, the Asia- Pacific, US, and Middle East. It employs more than 2000 people around the world, has more than 35 brands internationally, and distributes around 1100 products to 50 countries.
SunRice Group CEO Rob Gordon says the company has been on a “significant journey” since its first award in 1969.
“Back then, the company was very much focused on processing and marketing the Australian rice crop in
premium markets. Now, we are a truly global food group,” Gordon says.
“Winning the awards was a major achievement. It saw us recognised
alongside some of the best exporters in the country
and provided important validation that we were on the right track,” says Gordon.
The 1970s was a decade of major change for Australian exports. At the beginning of the decade, the European Economic Community put hefty import restrictions on non-members, which saw Australia’s agricultural exports lose their share of the European market.
In 1973, the federal government reduced tariffs by
25 per cent across the board in a bid to turn back Australia’s protectionist policies.
Ever resilient, Australian exporters found new opportunities in Asia, Eastern Europe, North America and the Middle East. A total
of 20 new global trade missions marked a busy decade for expansion and new business.
CAPILANO: AUSTRALIAN EXPORT AWARD WINNER, 1971
Hive + Wellness honey brand Capilano is one of
the most widely distributed Australian food brands, and one of the largest suppliers of pure honey, in the world. The company exports to 32 markets, including China, the US, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
More than 675 beekeepers across Australia supply more than 10,000 tonnes of Capilano honey every year.
The company won its first award in 1971, and again 38 years later in 2009.
General manager of International Sales for Hive + Wellness, Joel Carlyon, says
winning the award in the 1970s played a key role in the company’s growth overseas.
“It helped build credibility on the global stage for
our flagship Capilano brand. It helped open doors across our suite of capabilities for branded, private label and industrial bulk volume sales,” Carlyon says.
In March 2002, Capilano launched in the UK, with it quickly becoming one of the company’s strongest export markets. The company was forced to withdraw in 2007 due to an Australian honey shortage, but is currently preparing for its return.
“The new Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement presents an opportunity for the company to re-enter this dominant honey market,” Carlyon says.
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