"Ai Group welcomes today's release of the Food & Beverage National Manufacturing Priority road map. The strategies and direction in the road map will help to secure Australia's food security – from farm to factory to table," Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association Ai Group, said today.
"Australia has significant comparative advantages in food and beverage manufacturing and its supply chains, for example, in specialist food processing equipment and packaging. This strategy will ensure that companies can position themselves more effectively for the next decade.
"Care must be taken to ensure that any regulatory intervention in the strategy is designed to underpin growth and support Australian-based business and that resources are allocated to encourage local manufacturing.
"Food and beverage manufacturing is Australia's largest manufacturing sector. The sector has grown significantly over the past decade, and was worth $27.2bn to the Australian economy and employed 229,000 people in 2020. Ai Group's Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index has recorded expansion of the industry every month since 2012 (trend data). Exports of Australian made food & beverage manufacturing products were worth $30.6bn in 2020.
"In recent years, exports have been strong for Australian-made food & beverage products, and this strategy will help the industry to grow exports further," Mr Willox said.
