November 24, 2006

Safety tops on minds of North Asian consumers, says MLA
 

Australian producers hoping to sell red meats to North Asia would have to bear in mind that consumers in that region place top priority on safety and integrity in their red meat, MLA's Korea regional manager Glen Feist said at a producer forum in Adelaide on Wednesday (Nov 24).

Effective marketing and the ability to back up the safety of the meat go hand-in-hand, Feist said.

Although strong brand awareness in North Asian markets is important, having transparent and accountable food safety and quality systems was the real key to building consumer trust, Feist said.

He added that Australia currently leads the world in food safety and quality systems through such systems and programmes such as NLIS, NVDs and LPA that deliver upon consumer demands for transparency.

These programmes were largely accountable in the building of the Australian brands in North Asia, he added.

Feist said an AC Nielsen survey has shown that of the seven most important factors that influence meat decisions of Japanese consumers, all but one have something to do with perceptions of meat safety, quality, health status and traceability.

On the other hand, meat prices ranked way down as the 20th most important factor.

Feist said effective marketing and the absence of the US from the Japanese and South Korean markets had seen Australian exports to both Japan and South Korea grow by 45 percent and 71 percent respectively last year. 

Australia's investment on brand building is paying off handsomely, he added. MLA's beef brand in Korea, which literally meant 'Aussie beef clean and safe' was voted brand of the year in the country for two consecutive years.

The value of the Korean market for Australia has tripled from US$208 million in 2000-01 to $662 million this year, while in Japan, the market for Australian beef has expanded from US$1.7 billion in 2000-2001 to $2.35 billion this year."