Food for Thought: 23 recommendations from food manufacturing inquiry

The House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Resources has released its report following an inquiry into food and beverage manufacturing in Australia.

Titled ‘Food for Thought: The opportunities and challenges for Australia’s food and beverage manufacturing industry’, the report has made 23 recommendations.

The Chair of the committee, Rob Mitchell MP, said, “By 2040, the global population is expected to reach nine billion. This will shape the global economic and consumer landscape, and Australia is well-positioned to capitalise on its ‘clean and green’ reputation and ability to innovate and expand product range to further increase its market share, both domestically and internationally.”

During the inquiry’s submissions stage, stakeholders raised issues about the lack of a national and consistent direction on food policy. As such, a National Food Plan is included as one of the 23 recommendations. It recommends a holistic plan designed to provide cohesion for food policies and plans across federal, state and local governments.

Approximately 40% of submissions received for this inquiry were from the alcohol industry and concerns were raised about the system of alcohol taxation in Australia. Due to the complexity of this issue, no conclusions on alcohol taxation were drawn in this report, but it has recommended that a House Select Committee be formed to take a detailed look at how to best support the alcohol industry.

“This inquiry found many opportunities for expanding the Australian food and beverage manufacturing sector. These include export opportunities, integrating new technologies, building on Australia’s reputational and competitive advantages, and adding value to raw products to produce high-value goods,” Mitchell said.

“The Committee has made several recommendations to take advantage of these opportunities, including developing a National Food Plan, increasing AusTrade assistance for small and medium enterprises looking to export Australian food and beverage products to Asia, identifying skills shortages in the industry, and supporting automation technologies.”

The full report is available here.

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