The Special Representative for Australian Agriculture, Ms Su McCluskey, visited Thailand and Singapore in October 2024 to participate in the Thailand Sustainability Expo, to champion Australian climate-smart sustainability credentials and build stronger relationships with ASEAN trading partners.
Ms McCluskey partnered with Dairy Australia and Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) along with support from Amber Parr, the former Australian Agriculture Counsellor in Bangkok, to detail Australian climate-smart practices and industry efforts to measure and report on progress to meet their goals.
“It’s so important that we engage with our near neighbours in Southeast Asia to demonstrate the great work we’re doing on sustainability,” Ms McCluskey said.
“With a growing middle class who are becoming more socially conscious, Australia has an opportunity to capitalise with our strong agriculture credentials and high-quality produce”.
Thailand: Sustainability, agri-innovation and women in agriculture.
During her first time in Thailand, Ms McCluskey participated in the Thailand Sustainability Expo, a major event to showcase the region’s drive and ambition for economy wide sustainable innovation. Australia had a large business presence at the Expo led by Austrade, where Ms McCluskey delivered a keynote speech at a seminar titled ‘Australia’s pathway towards decarbonisation in agriculture’. The seminar was hosted by the Australian Embassy in Thailand, in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), MLA and Dairy Australia.
“There can be no one-sized-fits-all approach to sustainability. Policy solutions must be outcomes-focused, place-based and measurable, rather than prescriptive”, Ms McCluskey expressed.
“Australia is committed to this principle and is looking to work with like-minded partners to ensure that sustainability practices don’t turn into Non-Tariff Barriers that hurt exports and local production, whether in Australia or in Southeast Asia”.
The Australian Ambassador to Thailand, Dr Angela Macdonald PSM, took the opportunity of Ms McCluskey’s presence in the country to host a Women in Agriculture lunch. The event brought together women from across the Thailand agri-food supply chain to exchange views on the role of women in agriculture, and to discuss the Australian model of research and development that enables co-investment by government and industry to support farmers to boost their productivity.
While in Thailand, Ms McCluskey also toured the Gourmet Market in Siam Paragon to better understand consumer expectations, and how Australian produce is marketed in a region where consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable produce.
“It was pleasing to see Australian dairy, seafood, meat, fruit and vegetables as well as food and beverages were marketed with a strong ‘brand Australia’ indicated by flags and signs promoting the provenance of the goods.”
Singapore – Ensuring food security is the #1 priority
Following her visit to Thailand, Ms McCluskey stopped in Singapore to meet with Singaporean Government representatives, including Singapore’s Ministry of Sustainability and Environment (MSE), as well as industry, not-for-profit and university stakeholders. This engagement revealed that Singapore is highly focused on ensuring domestic food security, growing its capability, and building partnerships with other countries to support the supply of critical food and fibre, in line with its 30 by 30 goal (producing 30% of Singapore’s nutritional needs locally and sustainably by 2030).
MSE explained its plans to build a regional climate impact model, following the release of Singapore’s National Climate Change Study, to Ms McCluskey. MSE expressed interest in drawing on Australia’s measurement expertise to achieve climate adaptation.
“There is immense value in both countries collaborating on a technological solution for agricultural sustainability credentials” Ms McCluskey said.
“Australia has a lot to share through our universities and Research and Development Corporations that are leading work on practical technological solutions”.
Ms McCluskey’s visit to Southeast Asia was an excellent opportunity to ascertain the region’s growing interest in sustainability. It also highlighted opportunities for collaboration in various areas, including the no-one-size-fits-all approach to sustainability in international fora, agri-tech that supports climate adaption and mitigation activities, and sustainability credentials for food and fibre products.
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