Welcome to PGA of W.A.

As part of National Agriculture & Related Industries Day, which will for the first time be holding its AgDay Gala Dinner in Perth, the PGA is facilitating a panel of agribusiness leaders and policy makers to identify where the greatest growth opportunities lie.

Held at Crown Perth on National AgDay Thursday 21 November, the Forum titled, Australian Agribusiness: Global Opportunities - Local Expertise 2019, will provide a platform for Australian Agribusiness leaders to provide their expertise to a national audience on identifying growth opportunities and showcase our nation’s global profile.

It is centered around the following theme:
As the world’s population continues to grow, so does the importance of the global agribusiness industry.  With the demand for staple food and drink growing exponentially, and the world’s rapidly growing middle class demanding more agricultural variety and traceability, Australia’s agribusiness industry is the one sector of our economy with the strongest combination of playing most to our competitive advantages by producing what the world increasingly wants.

However the optimism over the prospects of Australian agribusiness raises the question - where within this sector do the greatest growth opportunities lie?

To explore this issue, the Forum will divided into three sessions – Processing; Distribution; Retailing, with a panel of speakers in each session followed by a 15 minute Q&A session, moderated by Business News.

Outlined below is information on a few of the key speakers:
The Hon. Kim Beasley AO, Governor of WA will officiate at the Opening of the Forum and will be joined by invited representatives of the Prime Minister of Australia and the Premier of WA for the Opening Session. A video presentation by the Founder and Patron of National AgDay Mrs Gina Rinehart will set the scene for the day.

Darren Thomas, CEO of Thomas Foods International
TFI is Australia’s largest 100% family owned food business, who supply and distribute premium meat, seafood and fresh produce to over 85 countries around the world. The TFI group of companies, which includes ready to cook meals business Thomas Farms Kitchen, meat wholesaler Holco, seafood exporter Thomas Cappo Seafoods, potato producer and distributor TFI Fresh Produce, and retail Label Thomas Farms meat generates an annual turnover in excess of $2 billion, and employs more than 3000 people globally.

Darren will be sharing what Thomas Foods International sees as the leading opportunities for growth in the food production and delivery supply chain. This includes new products, developing global markets, technological advances, and any breakthroughs in  distribution and supply channels.

Patrick Walsh, CEO of Craig Mostyn Group
Craig Mostyn Group is one of Australia’s leading diversified food and agribusiness companies servicing customers and suppliers both domestically and overseas.  Operating across Australia from state-of-the-art processing facilities in Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, Craig Mostyn produces fresh pork, seafood, protein meal and tallow to be distributed to food service, retail and wholesale clients. In 2017, CMG bought one of Western Australia’s largest meat processors, VV Walsh, to create a commercial platform giving them access to Asia, Europe and the Middle East for over 1.4 million processed animals a year.

Patrick will be sharing what the Craig Mostyn Group sees as the leading opportunities for growth in the processing industry. This includes developing markets, technological advances, increased quality control measures to name a few.  In addition he will also elaborate on some of the potential detriments that the industry is facing, including Swine Fever, and animal rights activists.

Tony Galati, owner and founder of Spud Shed
Western Australia’s Spud King, Tony Galati is the founder and owner of Spud Shed, an independent supermarket chain based in Western Australia. With its beginnings in 1998 as a farmers market in Baldivis, Spud Shed has grown under Tony’s stewardship to a total of 14 stores in the Perth Metropolitan Area, competing directly against Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, and IGA. Tony also became a household name for his protracted battles against the Potato Marketing Corporation, and the removal of their quota system.

Tony will be sharing what he sees as the leading opportunities for growth in the food retailing sector including providing insight into Spud Shed’s phenomenal expansion from a small shed on the Baldivis farm to 14 stores offering a large range of fresh produce together with a full meat, dairy and grocery offer. In addition I am sure he will be happy to answer some questions abpout the deregulation of the potato industry, as well as the new push to create a new potato export cooperative.

In addition some of our other speakers include Harold Sealy Livestock Manager Livestock Shipping Services, Jason Craig, General Manager Marketing and Trading for CBH Group and John Orr, Director of Premium Grains.

The Forum will close with an afternoon tea networking session 

This is a tremendous opportunity for you to meet and interact with some of the leaders in the global agriculture supply and distribution chains and we strongly encourage you to attend.

Registrations to attend the Australian Agribusiness: Global Opportunities Local Expertise forum can be made through Trybooking using the following link https://www.trybooking.com/571233

As the Ag Day Gala dinner is a sold out event, we urge you to register as soon as possible - tickets are strictly limited.  Please call the PGA during office hours if you require further assistance. To view the AGENDA - download via the link below: