30 Minute Interview

'We want to bring in more companies from Australia to India'

The Australian Seafood & Wine festival will focus on encouraging F&B trade between the two countries, says Michael Carter, counsellor (Commercial), Australian Trade Commission, Australian Government. By Sanjeev Bhar

What prompted you to bring an Australian seafood and wine festival to India?

The three-city festival has been orchestrated by the Australian High Commission in partnership with the Oberoi Group, Tourism Australia and Singapore Airlines. This event is going to strengthen the existing relationship between the two nations. Keeping that in mind, this initiation will lead to better trade in the F&B segment.

How has the trade between the countries shaped up so far?

Food export from Australia to India was worth approximately US$ 250-300 million in 2006-07 and the projection for 2007-08 is encouraging and is expected to be growing at 10-12 per cent annually. Principally, exports have been taking place in the processed and frozen food segments. Though the scope in India is small, it is developing. The retail sector here is getting organised and therefore, Australian products' presence in major retail stores will be seen especially in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. We are involved in a major launch in Bengaluru with some 25 Australian supermarket brands coming there and later in Delhi. The medium to high priced products will also be marketed to hotels and other institutional segments.

What wines and wine growing regions will the festival showcase?

Premium Australian seafood supplied by Southern Trading from Western Australia will be paired with some of Australia's finest wines including Henley Hill, Hungerford Hill, Howard Park Estate and Yarraman Estate representing some of Australia's well-known wine-growing regions like Margaret River, Yarra Valley and the Hunter Valley. Celebrity chef Sunny de Ocampo will be working with the Oberoi Group during the month-long promotion to create exclusive recipes and signature dishes around fresh Australian seafood.

Do you have a message for the Indian hospitality trade?

Our focus has been a lot on northern India. Our second tier strategy, so to speak, is to focus on services and inform about agri-business related activities in order to sell Australia's pedigree and experience in that area. We want to demonstrate Australia's capability in the market of food processing, farming and post-harvest management, which is highly organised and focused on quality. This has been applied in the production of a broad range of F&B. The campaign is principally looking at positioning gourmet Australian food and medium to high priced wines into the five-star hospitality sector. So one will have access to Australian F&B through organised retail as well as premium hotels.

Are you looking at participating in Indian trade exhibitions?

Absolutely. Trade events are not only valuable but are also a great marketing tool. We want to bring in more companies from Australia to India. We are participating in an upcoming show to be held this December where we will have nine companies showcasing their products. There will also be participation from two state governments - Western and Southern Australia.

The festival will be held in New Delhi (November 5-15), Bengaluru (November 12-23) and Mumbai (November 17-25) and will be inaugurated by Martin Ferguson, minister for Resources, Energy & Tourism, Australia Government