Capital investment in the Australian food sector is "vital" for the industry to meet future opportunities, insisted CEO of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, Gary Dawson, in the wake of the latest report detailing the country's export figures for 2015.
According to the State of the Industry 2015 report, compiled by EY, Australian food and beverage exports have increased by 28% over the last year. Industry turnover grew 0.9% to A$118.8bn (US$182.3bn) compared with a year earlier and the country saw a 12% jump to A$61.7bn in total international trade.
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The report showed a major driver of the export growth during the period was meat exports, particularly to the US, but other areas including dairy, biscuits and confectionery also saw growth.
"Food and grocery processing makes up almost one-third of Australia’s manufacturing sector and it is encouraging to see growth in both industry turnover and jobs. Growth prospects for the future are strong, reflected in surging food exports in recent years. In 2014-15 processed food and beverage exports were up 28% or almost $6bn to $26bn and the trade surplus almost doubled to $10bn."
The increase in exports was attributed to the falling Australian dollar and "improved market access flowing from trade agreements" that improved the competitiveness of Australian food and beverage exports in key markets.
An area of weakness which was highlighted however was capital investment, which fell 9% to $3bn.
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By GlobalData"A lift in investment is vital for the Australian food and grocery sector to scale up and meet the opportunities of the future," said Dawson.
"Future growth to fully capitalise on improved market access and growing demand from middle class consumers in the emerging economies of Asia and the Middle East will require a step change in investment in the food and grocery sector," he added.
