Air shipments of live dairy heifers, new markets for meat exports, agricultural training and tourism promotions have been earmarked as the south-west explores new economic opportunities in the province of Jilin.

The moves come as a 14-member delegation from Warrnambool to its sister-city of Changchun winds up after a week of talks.

Warrnambool mayor Mike Neoh said work would continue on a number of early initiatives and potential leads “to keep the momentum going” when the group heads home this week. “There’s some really good connections and the scale is enormous,” Cr Neoh said.

Changchun is a city of seven million people with a large agricultural base and a focus on research and development.

The meetings, which involved diplomatic talks and high-level protocol, discussed ideas including:

- direct flights of high-quality dairy heifers from Warrnambool to Changchun;

- the use of Glenormiston College as an international training centre for agricultural courses;

- new markets for meat exports;

- tourism promotions at the annual Changchun city expo;

- participation by south-west athletes in the Changchun marathon;

- links between Deakin and Jilin universities.

In return visits, Chinese academics are planning to visit south-west farms and facilities at the Midfield Meat group and two tourism officials will conduct a familiarisation tour along the Great Ocean Road and Great South Coast.

Changchun has also indicated support for the Warrnambool sculpture project.

Speaking from China yesterday, Cr Neoh described the talks as “exciting”. 

“The most promising initiatives are definitely in dairying and agriculture and then tourism.”

Cr Neoh said China already imported dairy heifers through agents but Australian farmers had no idea where their animals were sent, so a direct link between Warrnambool and Chang-chun would be welcomed. 

The delegation discovered that Chinese farmers use embryo implants to boost their herd numbers with a strike rate of just 20 per cent. 

This sparked the idea for an agricultural course, possibly using facilities at Glenormiston, to train international students in artificial insemination, genetics and farm management, including how to boost production. Cr Neoh said that in the past, China had been a big importer of milk powder, but there was now a swing towards Western-style products such as yoghurt, meaning further opportunities for the south-west dairy industry.

The link between Warrnambool and Changchun almost ended before it had even started just four years ago. 

Cr Neoh, who was also mayor at the time, said he received an email from a Chinese man named Leo.

“I thought it might be junk mail, but I forwarded it to (city growth director) Bill Millard,” he said.

‘‘He followed it up and it turned out that he was contacting us on a recommendation from the Chinese consulate in Melbourne who had identified the south-west as a huge area of opportunity.”

The sister-city relationship began in an initial deal that will be reviewed after four years.

It is Cr Neoh’s first trip to China, which he described as “amazing”.

Cr Neoh and chief executive officer Bruce Anson’s airfares have been paid by the council while the 12 other delegates have paid their own way. Accommodation in China was met by the Changchun government.

“Council’s contribution is very minimal,” Cr Neoh said. 

“The lion’s share has been paid for by businesses after an expression of interest campaign from businesses interested in taking part.”