Farm Gate to Plate – Preliminary study of Argyle’s China Retail Ready Solution

Summary

Transporting chilled red meat products to overseas markets, such as China, can be difficult because they require constant refrigeration, have a shorter shelf life and are usually only shipped in small amounts due to limited demand.

A New South Wales meat processor, Argyle Foods Group Pty Ltd, has developed a pre-packed, frozen-thawed red meat product range to help increase the value of Australian red meat products to suit China retail markets. To support these products, this project developed a 'Farm Gate to Plate' supply chain model as a case study of how Australian red meat can be better managed through the cold chain by staying frozen until it is ready to be thawed for sale.

Farm Gate to Plate gives retailers in China a simple, profitable solution to supply traceable, branded chilled red meat that has good colour, extended shelf life and minimal shrinkage without the complications of a refrigerated supply chain.

Objectives

The main objective of this project was to develop a preliminary business case for a retail-ready, red meat program in China. This involved a commercial model for frozen-thawed products along the value chain, new innovative concepts, as well as developing food safety and traceability protocols for the frozen-thawed model.

Key findings

The retail-ready, frozen-thawed products are pre-portioned and packed to be marketed in retail channels. They have a well-established branding strategy and are being marketed as a value-adding product, which delivers an increased sale price.

The transport cost of the frozen-thawed supply chain is 17% cheaper than sending chilled red meat products to China. Sea freight for frozen-thawed products to China costs $1.15/kg and air freight costs $6.75/kg.

As a result of the extended shelf life, the wastage of frozen-thawed products is less than 5%, compared to 25% waste of products which are transported chilled.

Benefits to industry

The results of this project help build Australia's capability and capacity to supply beef to Chinese consumers. This creates opportunities for the Australian red meat industry and increases the profitability of exporters, processors and producers.

MLA action

Creating shelf life predictive tools for chilled and frozen Australian meat continues to be a key activity within MLA's Market Access non-trade technical barrier program. Improved understanding of supply chains that consider thawing protocols adds to this initiative.

Argyle has now commenced an MLA Donor Company partnership project (P.PSH.1214) that builds on the freeze-thaw outcomes from this project, along with the adoption of a new digital traceability and supply chain design to develop a range of Australian beef products for several Chinese retail and foodservice outlets.

Future research

Future research in this area should focus on:

• new product development of different cuts of red meat and pack sizes/formats applying thawing protocols
• new innovations, such as marinated and ready-to-cook products, applying this thawing protocol
• making the Australian provenance message more visible on frozen-thawed product packaging.