Page 25 - Conveniece World Magazine Nov/Dec 2020

FOOD AND GROCERY’S VITAL PLACE IN AUSTRALIA The Covid-19 outbreak that hit in early 2020 placed enormous pressure on Australia’s supermarkets and on the food and grocery manufacturers whose job it is to keep the shelves full. By Australian Food and Grocery Council CEO Tanya Barden. P anic buying left some shelves temporarily bare while lockdowns placed additional pressures on workforces. However, food and grocery manufacturers rose to the challenge, keeping essential goods and services flowing and adapting production to fill gaps, such as in hand sanitiser supplies, created by soaring demand and supply chain disruptions. The difficulties of 2020 have highlighted the strength of Australia’s food and grocery manufacturing sector. After the initial disruption, the sector quickly adapted to the situation and in many cases pivoted to start making new products and serving new markets. In a time when many Australians either lost work or had working hours reduced, food and grocery manufacturers were also maintaining employment, as were the supermarkets, which in many cases were hiring more people. It was a showcase of the strength of Australia’s food, beverage and grocery manufacturing sector, which, with a value of $127.1 billion, is the nation’s biggest manufacturing sector and biggest manufacturing employer, providing more than 274,000 jobs, many of those concentrated in regional Australia. The important place food and beverage manufacturing has in Australia was made clear in June by Australian Food and Grocery Council Deputy CEO Geoffrey Annison, when he pointed out that Australia produces enough food to feed its entire population three times over, in a food chain that is safe and reliable. And with Australia now showing success in containing Covid-19 and states easing lockdowns and border controls, attention has swung onto the enormous potential the sector has to help the nation’s economic recovery. Australia’s economy suffered a seven percent decline in GDP in the June quarter as a result of the COVID- induced recession. In its 2020/21 federal budget, a plan aimed squarely at helping Australia recover from a “once in a century” economic shock, the federal government highlighted the potential of the food and grocery sector when it named it among its six National Manufacturing Priorities. Alongside resources technology and critical minerals processing, medical products, recycling and clean energy, the defence industry and the space industry, food and beverage manufacturing was identified as an area where Australia has an edge. It is important that the federal government has recognised how critical the food and beverage sector is to the economy now and the potential it has to play an even bigger part. That was an important boost to confidence in the sector. We’re at a stage where there is tremendous export growth potential in Australian food and beverage manufacturing – turnover for the sector was $110 billion in 2018/19 and $31 billion of that was from exports. The AFGC has welcomed the government’s announcement of a Modern Manufacturing Strategy, which has at its heart a $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI). The MMI offers grants on a co- investment basis for large projects that can deliver broad benefits and advances to the sector. It is an important incentive for businesses to upgrade or expand in a sector where capital investment has been stagnant for a number of years. The Government’s Manufacturing Strategy makes the most of the food and beverage sector’s natural competitiveness, which arises from being able to source quality agricultural inputs and process them to global best safety and quality standards. With work now starting on roadmaps for each manufacturing priority area, Australian food and beverage manufacturing, as well as the broader food and grocery sector, is poised for growth in a new era of awareness of its key role in the nation’s economic wellbeing. INDUSTRY INSIGHT About Tanya Barden Tanya Barden is the Chief Executive Officer at the Australian Food and Grocery Council. Tanya was Director, Economics, Trade and Sustainability with the AFGC prior to becoming CEO and before that gained extensive experience in senior private and public sector roles. Tanya is passionate about the success of Australia’s food and grocery sector. About Australian Food and Grocery Council The Australian Food and Grocery Council is an industry association that has been helping member companies and the food, beverage and grocery supply industry to sustain Australia. Founded in 1995, the AFGC now represents a $127 billion sector that employs more than 274,000 people nationally, with nearly 40 per cent of those jobs in rural and regional Australia. NOV/DEC, 2020 CONVENIENCE WORLD 23