A growing interest in the health and nutritional benefits of dairy products in Vietnam could open up marketing opportunities for Australian exporters.
The Vietnamese government is encouraging development of a domestic dairy industry but the country depends overwhelmingly on imported products, according to University of Queensland senior lecturer in agribusiness Dr Kim Bryceson.
Dr Bryceson has just returned from Vietnam with a group of final-year UQ Gatton agribusiness students conducting a market assessment for Brisbane-based company Total Foodtec Marketing.
“It was a great learning experience for the students who observed some very interesting market developments,” Dr Bryceson said.
“Doing business in a country like Vietnam presents special challenges with virtually no food cool supply chain and very different marketing systems.”
The team visited traditional wet markets in Ho Chi Minh as well as modern supermarkets where shelves were stacked high with long-life and tinned milk products. They also met government officials in Hanoi.
Business models were put together in a presentation to the Total Foodtec Marketing Board.
Total Foodtec Export Manager Dustin Boughton said the company was interested in the market potential for a range of speciality products including milk powders and cream cheese.
The company specialises in sourcing products from Australian processors to match the needs of food manufacturers and about 40 percent of its business is based on exports.
“We don’t export to Vietnam and we saw assessment by the agribusiness students as a cost-effective way of judging the market potential,” Mr Boughton said.
“Export industry needs skilled young people who have real experience in the business world. We have a UQ Gatton agribusiness graduate on our staff.”
UQ Gatton Agribusiness Associate Professor Ray Collins said the study of Vietnam’s dairy market was one of five overseas projects completed by final year students in 2002.
“We concentrate on the Asian markets which are so important to Australian exporters and our senior staff have developed extremely valuable contacts through regular annual visits to the region,” he said.
“Students have assessed markets for a wide range of companies over the past few years and their reports have been extremely well-received.”
Dr. Collins said the client company awarded 40 percent of the subject marks, making the program unique.
“The agribusiness degree at UQ Gatton is well-regarded by industry and graduates enjoy a high success rate in gaining jobs,” he said.
“Our program is supplying an employment growth market.”
Media: For more information contact Associate Professor Ray Collins (telephone 07 5460 1328) or Anthony Smith (telephone 0409 265 587).
