Dairy Australia’s inaugural South East Asia Dairy Scholarship program has come to a tasty conclusion with the 15 scholars testing sampling delectable dairy dishes cooked in the Dairy Australia kitchen by Australian chef Tim Hollands.
Mr Hollands’ dairy feast was part of the final day of the week-long program which saw scholars from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Korea gain firsthand knowledge about the Australian dairy industry.
The group visited the National Centre for Dairy Research and Development at Ellinbank and also dropped in on Victoria farms, manufacturers and regulators. The Dairy Scholarship program was possible thanks to a partnership between Dairy Australia and the Victorian Government.
Dairy Australia international trade development manager Peter Myers said the visitors had gained a new appreciation of Australia’s quality assurance and food safety systems and would leave the country with a solid understanding of the entire dairy supply chain.
He said such first-hand knowledge would give the guests credibility when they talk about Australia as a supplier of clean and safe products.
Kady Wilson, from Silverwave in the Philippines, said the scholarship was a great opportunity “to see it for yourself” and she loved meeting her peers from the South East Asia region.
“We always hear that Australian dairy is clean, green and safe, but seeing it from start to finish is another thing, and gives us so much more credibility to bring home,” she said.
Bryan Christianto, from the Mayo Group in Indonesia said the visit was great opportunity to learn how a good quality dairy product is made.
“I really enjoyed visiting farms, and by visiting manufacturers you also get a good understanding of raw produce and how it is processed in the factory and delivered to the customer.
Mr Christianto added the scholarship programwas a great opportunity to build relationships with people from different countries.
In 2014, Australia exported $1.071 billion of dairy produce to South East Asia, 33 per cent of total export values for the year. Some $761 million of those exports came from Victoria-based companies.
“Our annual Japan and China dairy scholarships have brought industry professionals to Australia to study dairy over the last 20 years, and in that time have built a powerful network of alumni. These networks have spread a deeper knowledge and understanding of our industry in those markets and significantly contributed to our export success,” Mr Myers said.
“The value of the reciprocal insights gained in the markets where Australia is selling dairy and the strengthening of established business links cannot be overestimated and the inaugural scholarship group look set to become a strong foundation for our South East Asia alumni,” he added.
