With a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Australia and China, which was signed on Tuesday afternoon, approaching, he described the meeting as very positive, and introduced ‘Brand Australia’ as one major outcome of the meeting.

“There’s a lot of work to be done, but basically we’re going to have a Brand Australia campaign to inform the Chinese people of the excellence of Australian food products,” Mr Clements said.

Bindaree, and everyone else, will use that banner to market their products.

“It’s early days for it yet, but (there was) a pretty significant roomful of Australian processors and producers talking about how China represents such an opportunity. Probably it’s the first market, and the first time ever, where Australian processors and producers aren’t going to be actively competing against each other. We can work together,” Mr Clements said.

“Bindaree is sending 16,000 tonnes a year now, we’re starting to get into some very specific Chinese products and we haven’t neglected our Australian market to do that. We’re particularly starting to do retail ready cuts to suit the Chinese cooking processes and their palate.”

Mr Clements said he recognised the drought was a significant issue.

“But a longer term issue is the fact that there is just not enough competition to lift that saleyard price. I think what Bindaree’s clearly saying is, that the opportunities in front of us in China at the moment mean that that price is going to go up, and that there is going to be a profitability for producers,” Mr Clements said.

“We understand the FTA will be very positive for beef. The Trade Minister, Andrew Robb, has done just an excellent job. He’s a very skilled and experienced individual and in no small part this FTA comes down to him.

“We’ve got something other countries haven’t got, a good regulatory system and a very safe product. And Bindaree can add to that because not only is it safe, it’s tasty too.”

Meanwhile, in a company first, Bindaree Beef has opened the doors of the plant to local producers.  

On Friday, Bindaree held its fifth information day and welcomed 46 graziers for the tour. 

They began at the Inverell Club for a morning introduction session. The group received industry information from Bindaree staff and representatives from global meat exporter and trader, Sanger Australia.

With some basics under their belts, the group headed to the plant, suited up and broke into groups. The tour gave access to the kill floors, processing, cutting and boning, cool rooms, grading process, and MAP room where product is packaged for Aldi. 

The company structures the day to deliver a comprehensive perspective when it comes to their product preferences. 

Michael Spencer is Bindaree’s general livestock manager. He said producer feedback from the info days has been excellent.

“It’s been very positive the whole way through."

“A lot of producers haven’t had the opportunity to go through the processing facility, so I think they find it interesting and it gives them an understanding of our side of the business,” he said.

Mr Spencer said the graziers learned what Bindaree is looking for in live cattle, fat distribution, finishing processes and price grid structure.

Piggybacking onto Bindaree’s preferences is the potential for an expanded cattle market. 

With the paperwork signed on a free-trade agreement with China, the doors have also opened for local British beef producers to access the new market.

The free trade agreement will see beef export tariffs between 12 to 25 per cent phased out over the next nine years.

Bindaree general livestock manager Michael Spencer said the relationship has already been established with the Asian giant.

“So we’re building a plan around how we’re going to service China,” he said.

“How that flows back to the producer will be determined through what we buy, so we always buy what the customer wants. 

“Everything that we do is driven off what we can sell through our customer relationships, so we need to bring the producers along with that.”