ROBIN E ROBERTS  | 

Australia’s strong bilateral relationship with Vietnam has opened significant opportunities for agricultural exporters. With Vietnam’s rising incomes and increasingly affluent consumers, there is growing demand for premium quality food products. This trend is evident in the surge of Australian agriculture exports to Vietnam, including horticulture and seafood. Vietnam has now become the second-largest market for these exports, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Australia is uniquely positioned to meet this demand, supported by its reputation for high-quality, safe, and reliable produce. Recognising the importance of building trust in agricultural exports, a national program has awarded $3.9 million to industries and institutions at the forefront of supply chain traceability.

As part of this initiative, Associate Professor Robin Roberts has undertaken a new research project focusing on data-enabled traceability systems and tools for agriculture industries. The project examines how traceability systems can enhance Vietnamese consumers’ trust in Australian premium foods and provide valuable insights to strengthen Australia’s trade agenda.

The project, titled Evaluation and Resource Development to Advance Australian Agriculture Export Traceability: A Study of Seafood and Horticulture Trade with Vietnam, explores several critical aspects:

 Traceability features on selected Australian food products exported to Vietnam.

  • Protect the reputation of the Australian agriculture products sold in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
  • Ensure export markets receive genuine Australian produce and eliminate food fraud.
  • Vietnamese consumers’ willingness to pay for premium price Australian produce.

The outcomes of this project provide an initial step to building and enhancing trust related to evidence-based traceability standards and credentials through both Australian industry information sharing workshops and the development of partner country commercial relationships.

Project findings will assist strategic decision making for Australian companies engaged in food production, processing, and trade with a dedicated focus on traceability systems for premium valued food exports to Vietnam and more broadly to other Southeast Asian countries.


AUTHOR

Associate Professor Robin Roberts is a member of the Griffith Asia Institute and an agribusiness expert in the field of international trade of food products.  Robin is the Principal Investigator for this Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry project – “Evaluation and Resource Development to Advance Australian Agriculture Export Traceability: A Study of Seafood and Horticulture Trade with Vietnam”