The French biotechnology market has experienced strong growth over the past few years. The market is expected to continue growing. In 2010, the French biotechnology market grew by 7% with a total revenue of US$ 4,7 billion and should reach US$ 6.2 billion by the end of 2015. The Medical/Healthcare is the largest segment of the biotechnology market in France, accounting for 82% of the market’s total value. France accounts for 7,1% of the European biotechnology market value. Ubifrance, in Sydney, offers you “a once in a life time” opportunity to meet with French biotechnology companies, eager to partnering with Australian bioscience companies in the medical/healthcare sector. If you are looking for business opportunities (co-development partnership, commercial alliance, financial partnership, joint-venture, distribution alliance, etc…) you are kindly invited to meet with our French companies, between the 26th and 29th November 2012, in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. For more information please contact:  Ms. Sylvie Patinec (02) 9287 92 12 – sylvie.patinec@ubifrance.fr

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The French Trade Commissions of Singapore and Sydney coordinated the IT Healthcare 2012 project from the 26th to the 30th of March. It enabled 9 French companies to grasp the local e-health industries and to find out whether their solutions have a real potential on these markets. The delegates were representatives from French cutting-edge players providing new IT solutions for the Health industry. They indeed provide innovative technologies, from ERP to remote telemedicine solutions, to glass-free 3D displays that give you a new perspective on X-rays!   Taking advantage of a two-fold trip in the Asia-Pacific region, a 5-day program has been organized for these French companies: they have first been given industry briefings by the key players of the local e-health industry, and then participated to individual business meetings which have been organized beforehand, according to their strategy on these markets.   These match-making meetings gave the delegates the opportunity to meet public and private buyers (hospitals and clinics) and potential partners (system integrators, telecommunications operators, health insurers, OEMs, etc.). In total, more than 100 meetings have been arranged by both Trade Commissions.   The project has proved to be a real success: the sessions provided the French companies with a fairly deep understanding of the e-health industry, and the B2B meetings enabled them to spot the opportunities and to initiate business relations. From the local companies’ point of view, the Singaporean and Australian organizations have been shown the newest French innovations and offered the opportunity to be among the first ones to do business with them.   You missed the occasion to meet our delegates? No worries, contact us and we will answer your questions and put you in touch with them!    

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Over the past five years, cider literally flooded the Australian market. Passion for cider in Australia began with summer advertising campaigns entreating them to drink cider ‘over ice’ as a refreshing and fruity alternative to beer. In 2011-12, the Australian cider market already represented $300 million, the result of the dramatic growth the market has experienced in the past five years, with an average increase of 19.1% per annum. Sales even achieved +35% for 2011, and the cider market in Australia is forecast to continue with strong growth trend over the next five years. Is it just a fashion trend or will it last? The answer is difficult to know for now, but a lot are betting on it, and Australian are getting the move on the opportunity. Thus, cider brands are booming all over the country: The hills cider company, Cheeky Rascal, Dirty Granny, Mercury, Strongbow, Three oaks … just to name a few of them among the 90 brands of cider in Australia. Giant advertising campaigns, events sponsorship… cider companies do not hesitate investing a lot in communication to snap up market shares. So why does it work so well? Most probably because of the product range diversity, from traditional to sweet and fruity style, including premium, organic and imported varieties. And also because Aussie girls have found in cider their new favorite drink. Indeed, it offers to women an alternative option to beer, with different tastes, mixed flavors and still with low alcohol and large serving-size. Because of this lucrative craze, a lot of companies make "industrialised” ciders with flavourings and added sugar to hide their defects. Therefore, traditional cider lovers ask for a real Australian legislation defining what cider actually is. Also, it would be an important starting point for deciding how the category should be taxed. In France, cider is traditionally coming from Bretagne and Normandie, where pure juice ciders ferment naturally and are bottled without any pasteurisation or carbonation - a perfect example of the ancestral cider-making process, guaranteeing optimum development of the aromas and truly exceptional flavours. French artisanal and organic ciders do not have any added sugar or any preservatives and offer a much better quality. A few French ciders are now available on the Australian market (le Père Jules, le cidre d’Anneville etc.) and more will come shortly (le cidre Perche, Duclos Fougeray)! Cider has grown so significantly over the last couple of years that it seems natural that they have an association, allowing producers to have one voice speaking to other industries. This newly formed Cider Australia organization will bring together producers, other industry stakeholders and “cider enthusiasts”, and will be chaired by James Kendell, cider producer under the Small Acres Cyder brand, in Orange NSW. Besides, it is in Orange that has been launched, last year, the first event fully dedicated to cider and perry: The Australian Cider Awards. This show will allow the bests producers to win awards and therefore prestigious recognition helping them making the difference in the midst of this crowed market. The presentation dinner of the event will be held in Sydney, increasing the visibility of this second edition, organized on the 10 th and 11 th of October 2012. Last year, the elected “best in show” cider was an English cider, Henney’s Dry Cider, and the best Australian cider was Dirty Granny, a medium cider. A French cider maker, Domaine Dupont, from Normandie, won two silver awards in the Bottle Conditioned / Methode Champenoise Cider class. Sources : The shout ; CiderOz

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As salinity is a growing issue worldwide threatening farm outputs, Australian scientists may have found a way to overcome this problem. The team led by Matthew Gilliham managed to grow a new variety of durum wheat introducing a salt-tolerant gene into commercial durum wheat. First tests on salty soils showed improved grain yield by 25 per cent compared to other wheat plants currently sold. The good news is that this novel wheat was obtained by hybridization and as it is not classified as transgenic, it can be planted without restrictions. With already 20% of the agricultural soil affected, growing salt-tolerant crops may be a life-saver for many people. Source: Australian Food News

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Until 1996, you could import any raw milk cheeses in Australia. The year after, a decree prohibits their importation except for hard cheeses (Comté, Parmesan). In 2002, Will Studd (one of the largest importer of cheese in Australia) obtained a quarantine import permit and arranged for a co-operative producer called « Les fromageries Occitanes”  to send 80kg of Roquefort from France to Australia. He was asked to destroy his stock : the IFIP (Imported food Inspection Program) refused to perform the microbiological tests that would have proven that the cheese complied with the Australian standards of hygiene. He decided to lodge a legal appeal against the Authorities order to destroy the cheese. He was threatened with a 100.000$ fine and even ten years of jail if he continued to expose the Australian restrictive implications of the case in the press. The national Dairy Authority and the chairman of the Australian Specialist Cheesemaker Association publicly condemned his actions, claiming he was undermining the reputation of Australian specialist cheeses, and a dairy magazine even described him  as a “terrorist”. The case was finally heard on April Fool’s day 2003 in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Melbourne. Will Studd lost the case and a few days later, under the supervision of the IFIP authorities, the Roquefort was placed in the back of a shiny black hearse draped with a French flag to the sounds of the French national anthem and slowly driven to a very muddy public tip. As required by the Food Direction notice, the cheese was buried.  The highly publicized staging of the destruction of the goods helped open the way for a change in the legislation and a waiver was finally obtained for the Roquefort.  Late 2008, a bilateral agreement between France and Australia is signed for three years.  This agreement has just been renewed for five years by Mr. Romatet, Ambassador of France in Australia and the Australian Federal Department of Agriculture.

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The AOG exhibition 2012 was held from February 22nd to 24th in Perth Exhibition & Convention Centre. This event is the largest Oil and Gas industry exhibition in the Asia – Pacific Region featuring over 450 exhibitors from 16 countries and 12,500 visitors. This event is a platform that enables decision makers from the oil and gas industry to meet Australia’s largest oil and gas companies and to develop their network. The success of the exhibition is directly bounded to the thrive of the sector, which showed revenues of AUD 39.4 billion in 2011 and a 3% per annum growth over the 2007-2012 period. In this context, Ubifrance has organized match-making meetings between local companies and the French Delegation, featuring 7 French key players such as Dassault Systems, S2M or more modest SME such as GEOCEAN, 3X Engineering, PRO EXPA, TigerGrip and SERIMAX, to allow them to develop new businesses and to build up relationships with industry peers. These companies are involved in a wide range of activities such as pipe repair, maintenance, and installation, staffing, production of magnetic bearings or 3D and PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) solutions development. Thus, supported by Ubifrance, each company has met numerous local prospects during the length of the exhibition and made outstanding connections with main key players of the Australian oil and gas industry. Moreover, the delegation received the visit and the support of Mr Romatet, French Ambassador in Australia, as well as Mrs Espagne, Economique Counselor from the French Embassy, and Mr Tessier, French Trade Commissioner Country Manager Ubifrance ANZ,  to accompany them on their quest on the Australian market. To know more about the event and the French companies, contact either David Clement, david.clement@ubifrance.fr or Benoît Monet, benoit.monet@ubifrance.fr . W: www.ubifrance.com/au .

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Farm Fest 2012 in Toowoomba (Australia) and the Fieldays in Hamilton (New Zealand) are crucial agriculture shows, essential both for agricultural machinery and maintenance & services. They will be held from June 5 to 15. The agricultural sector is characterized in Australia by the predominance of grain crops, cotton, horticulture, cattle and sheep. The market represents over 140,000 farms; 32,5 Md EUR of Australian agricultural products are exported per year. Farmers appreciate the quality of French agricultural equipment. The New Zealand agricultural sector is characterized by the dominance of the dairy industry, cattle and sheep industry, horticulture and arboriculture. The agricultural sector contributes 7% to the GDP and 91% of agricultural products are exported. The market for agricultural equipment relies on foreign expertise and the quality of French know-how is highly regarded. With more than 3,500 exhibitors and 215,000 visitors expected, these events are the ideal platform to promote your business. UBIFRANCE  offers French companies participating to these Business & Trade Agriculture Fairs: - UbiFrance’s expertise and their personalized support during the 10 days events. - Seminars  held by field specialists for a  better understanding of  the growth sectors in a changing market. - The experience of local professionals, directly involved in changing the landscape of Australian and New Zealand agriculture. - Market opportunities discussion and practical and essential information during focused business meetings.  For more information, please contact us! Diane NAGGAR, Senior trade advisor, UbiFrance Sydney,  diane.naggar@ubifrance.fr Bérangère ESCANDE, trade advisor, UbiFrance Sydney, berangere.escande@ubifrance.fr

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