Forum provides food for thought

From fresh Australian cherries fetching $40 a kilo in Asia to the ongoing popularity of beef burgers in Australia and fresh interest around the world in plant-based food, The Australian’s ninth Global Food Forum on Tuesday provided an overview of the impressive opportunities awaiting farmers, food processors and related businesses post-pandemic. The nation’s food exports, keynote speaker Anthony Pratt told the forum, had surged from $29 billion when the forums began in 2013 to $46 billion in eight years. Food was one of the nation’s top exports. And food production was the biggest manufacturing sector, providing a third of all manufacturing jobs.

Forum participants were briefed on emerging developments in the wake of the pandemic, China’s trade war against Australia and environmental concerns. Covid had accelerated food’s e-commerce market share, Mr Pratt said, with up to 50 per cent of restaurant food likely to become home-delivered. One of the biggest opportunities for exports, he said, was online sales of local added-value horticulture to Asia or other counter-seasonal northern hemisphere countries: “Exporting our summer fruit to their winter – whether it be Japan or the UK – is a no-brainer.” As he said, it should be “a constant focus”.

While millennials were searching out products and companies that used only plant-based packaging, the shift of consumers away from meat had been overstated, Meat and Livestock Australia managing director Jason Strong said. Negative impressions of the red-meat industry were “disproportionate”, with about 40 per cent of people claiming to be vegetarians still eating meat: “We’ve got to be proactive about the messaging.”

While businesses remain interested in exporting food to China, tariffs and boycotts imposed by Xi Jinping’s Communist Party regime had prompted Australian food growers, processors and other businesses to seek out more reliable alternative markets such as Japan, Britain and the US, the forum was told. Coal was going to India and Indonesia, Trade Minister Dan Tehan said. Barley exporters had found new markets after the 80 per cent tariff slapped on Australian barley. Winemakers were looking beyond China to the rest of Asia, Chateau Tanunda managing director Michelle Geber said. Another bright spot was Australia’s new trade deal with Britain, which Mr Tehan said would be one of the nation’s best.

With strong demand for Australian produce and a year of good rains, demand for agricultural land and livestock has rarely been as strong. The government’s accelerated depreciation provisions for capital investment will also add a boost. Just as important, however, is the sector’s long-term resilience despite drought, floods and trade barriers. Our Food Forums give farmers, processors, export companies and workers the overview they need to capitalise on trends and opportunities.