Federal agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce will launch a new report focusing on long term food consumption trends in Asia at the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) Regional Outlook Conference in Darwin today.

The report, 'What Asia Wants: Long-term food consumption trends in Asia', found Asian food consumption is expected to increase significantly to 2050, driven by larger populations, higher incomes and bigger cities.

“This report helps Australian food producers and exporters identify opportunities in the marketplace.  It provides trends and forecasts that we can use to plan our efforts to increase agricultural exports,” Mr Joyce said.

“For Australian farmers to capitalise on these opportunities, the Australian Government needs to reduce market barriers and commit to comprehensive free trade agreements that bring a fair return to the farm gate. This is a priority for the Australian Government.

“In Asia there’s been a shift from traditional diets oriented around starchy staples to more varied diets with higher protein foods, particularly meat and dairy products."

In China, import demands are expected to rise for coarse grains, sugar, beef, sheep and goat meat, dairy products and vegetable oil.

As a largely vegetarian nation that relies on dairy as a source of protein, dairy imports in India are projected to increase to US$13 billion by 2050. India is also projected to become a significant net importer of vegetables and fruit with US$14 billion imports by 2050.

In the ASEAN member states vegetable and fruit consumption is projected to more than double by 2050, with net imports increasing to US$8 billion in the region. By 2050, beef consumption in ASEAN member states is projected to be 120 per cent higher than in 2007, with imports expected to expand by US$3 billion over this period.

The full report can be viewed on the DAFF website later today at this link: www.daff.gov.au/abares/publications.