Thousands of kilometres away, in heart of one of Germany’s shopping districts there is a bustling marketplace selling Australian produce.
Beneath a glass canopy at the Carlsplatz Market – the oldest marketplace in Dusseldorf – is a global foodie paradise with produce from Africa, France, India, Persia as well as Turkey and more types of potato than you ever knew existed.
But there among produce from across the globe, the word Australia, or Australien in German, stands out like a sore thumb (pardon the Aussie pun).
There is Australian Angus and wagyu steaks right next to licorice from Denmark and Australian macadamia nuts beside potatoes from the United Kingdom. At the SteakSchmiede butcher where they market premium meat, Australian Black Angus steak is selling for around (converted to Australian dollars) $11/100 grams, wagyu rib eye $37.70/100g and Angus fillet $15/100g.
When asked why consumers loved Australian beef, the butcher replied: “life of the cows is not normal in Australia compared to the rest of the world, they have so much space”.
In the next aisle where fruit and vegetables are sold next to a blooming florist, there are Australian macadamia nuts selling for $9.60 for 100g packet.
The green grocer said in winter (our summer) they stock Australian peaches and mangoes from “beautiful” Queensland that sell for $16 each.
“It’s very expensive, no, maybe yes but they are very popular,” the grocer said.
“The cost of transport to get it here is very high but we love everything from Australia.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, the European Union (EU) was an important market for Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries. In 2017, the EU was Australia’s fourth largest agricultural export destination, worth $3.7 billion.
Of the 28 EU member states, Germany with a population of 80 million and the Netherlands (17 million) were among our most valuable trading partners, with Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry exports valued at $848 million and $391 million respectively in 2017.
German customer Wolfgang Pagani said the paddock to plate concept was growing in Germany as people’s wages and demand to know where food came from increased.
“On an emotional level Australia is linked to very good feelings, the Australian nature and wildlife is so different to here in Europe,” Mr Pagani said.
“Australia seems to have the best of everything weather conditions, work life balance and nice people.
The Carlsplatz is the oldest still operated marketplace in Dusseldorf dating back to 1288 where it’s understood to have been held in front of the town hall when the city received market rights.
From there as the city expanded, the market became regionally significant as did the the movement of shipping goods by the Rhine River, which sits adjacent to the current market place.
Just a two hour train ride through German and Dutch farmland to Wageningen University in the Netherlands, Australian wine in on the menu at the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress.,
It’s no surprise as there has been a massive push of Australian wine into the Germany and the Netherlands. According to Wine Australia, the German market was important as it was the largest European importer of Australian wine in volume terms according to the Global Trade Atlas Year Ending March 2018.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands was the sixth largest importer of wine in volume terms and had grown at an annual average rate of 4.3 per cent since year ending March 2013.
“The markets are important because of their size and the fact that consumers in those nations are regular wine drinkers, and are familiar with Australian wines which enjoy a good reputation in those markets,” Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clark said.