The latest federal inquiry into the food and beverage manufacturing sector handed down its report this week, with the first of its 23 recommendations reiterating earlier inquiries that called for a comprehensive national food plan.
The House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Resources report Food for Thought: The opportunities and challenges for Australia’s food and beverage manufacturing industry was the result of 10 public hearings, 125 submissions, and 16 site visits around the country.
The food and beverage manufacturing sector is currently the largest employer within manufacturing with 237,000 employees, 25.9 per cent of all manufacturing jobs. While there is variation depending on the subsector, 87 per cent of the industry are SMEs that generate around $31.8 billion in gross value-add in 2022-23.
The inquiry found that while the sector is dealing with the same issues as manufacturing more broadly – increased input costs, cost of labour and raw materials, and labour and skills shortages – it is a complex, interconnected system with multiple government departments involved and no central organisation or policy to encourage an efficient and cohesive framework.
The University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre’s submission included its 2021 report into the role of different federal government organisations with Australia’s food policy. It found 11 government departments had a role in some part of the food system.
The Committee’s first recommendation reiterates the Standing Committee on Agriculture’s Australian Food Story: Feeding the Nation and Beyond report’s key recommendation—that the Australian Government develop a comprehensive National Food Plan.
“A National Food Plan will provide cohesion for food policies and plans across federal, state and local governments. Increased connections across the Australian food system will strengthen our ability to make progress together on food-related issues,” it said.
It would go some way to remove industry fragmentation and competing priorities, particularly in decision-making.
“Manufacturers, particularly those using more innovative processes or products, face issues in moving from research to commercialisation. As in the findings of the Committee’s previous report Sovereign, Smart, Sustainable: Driving advanced manufacturing in Australia, food and beverage manufacturers struggle to navigate the ‘valley of death’—the gap between concluded research and a market-ready product.
“Australia’s regulatory environment also poses a challenge for the Australian food and beverage manufacturing sector. Complexity and the lack of harmonisation complicate the ability for businesses to work across jurisdictions and adds additional costs to business operations,” the report said.
This inquiry was intended to complement the House Standing Committee on Agriculture’s Australian Food Story: Feeding the Nation and Beyond report. While the Agriculture committee’s report looked at the agricultural, pre-farm gate side of the production of food, this inquiry focussed on the post-farm gate manufacturing side of the food production sector.
It also found many opportunities for expanding the sector including in export, integrating new technologies, building on Australia’s reputational and competitive advantages, and adding value to raw products to produce high-value goods.
The Committee made several recommendations to take advantage of these opportunities, including a food innovation precinct, protection for native flora, identifying skills shortages in the industry, and supporting automation technologies.
It also looked at the interrelationship between the sector and the circular economy, including recycling, upcycling, food waste and sustainable packaging. It made six recommendations aimed at supporting the Australian food and beverage manufacturing sector in decarbonisation.
Around 40 per cent of submissions were from the alcohol industry on the current excise scheme. The committee said it didn’t make any recommendations due to the complexity of the issue, instead recommending a House Select Committee be formed to look at how best to support the sector.
