Agribusiness Australia: New $300b target in agricultural production

Australian agribusiness has set $300 billion as a post-farmgate target in total agricultural value of production but says the industry needed to lift its game to meet the new goal.

Australian agriculture needed to lift its game in exports or lose market share to South American and Baltic State countries.

AUSTRALIAN agribusinesses believe the farm sector target of $100 billion in farmgate production by 2030 needs to be reset to a new goal of $300 billion in post-farm value of output.

A summit of 50 chief executives of the nation’s top agribusinesses agreed last week to form a partnership with Food Innovation Australia Ltd to carry out a study to validate the new $300 billion target and determine where the industry should focus on achieving that goal.

Agribusiness Australia chairman and Elders managing director Mark Allison said the $100 billion target was set by farmer groups but should be expanded to include the post-farmgate and processing sector.

Agribusiness Australia released its annual State of the Industry report at the summit.

Mr Allison said the report sought to determine whether or not Australia was on track to reach the $100 billion target by 2030.

The study found Australia would end up at only $88 billion and would lose market share to South American and Baltic State countries unless it made rapid changes.

The report said changes needed to centre on optimising the use of the agtech sector, continuing to attract new domestic and foreign investment, harnessing free trade agreements and finding a qualified, high calibre workforce.

But Mr Allison said the chief executives believed the $100 billion target was the wrong focus and a $300 billion post-farmgate goal was more appropriate.

“The target should be total supply-chain focused,” he told The Weekly Times.

“We export value added produce as well as raw commodities.”

Mr Allison said the $12 billion shortfall in the $100 billion target included the Consumer Price Index.

“If you take the CPI out, the target is $20 billion short,” he said.

“So if you relate that back to a total supply chain target of $300 billion, we are $60 billion short.”

Mr Allison said an influx of capital was a key to agriculture’s prosperity, including foreign investment.

“The sector needs substantial capital investment to achieve growth in both production and profitability,” he said.

“Without a significant increase in capital, the long-term future of the sector domestically and in the global market will falter, and other nations will increase their market share at the expense of Australia.”

Mr Allison said foreign investment was part of the solution but so was investment by Australian agribusinesses if government policy settings were right.

“Direct foreign investment drives innovation and growth,” he said.

“The 50 big Australian agribusinesses, they’re also the ones to make the investment.

“But we need milestones to drive than investment.”

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