Food

Quality and diversity

Australia’s extraordinary variety of food and beverages – recognised worldwide for outstanding quality – is a reflection of both its natural abundance and its multicultural heritage. As a reliable long-term supplier of value-added food and beverage products to global markets, Australia’s diverse geography and climate enable year-round production, using high-quality ingredients combined with the use of cutting-edge technology and innovative manufacturing methods.

The Australian processed food and beverage industries comprise the largest manufacturing sector in Australia. Exports for 2001/2 were valued at around A$17.5bn – approximately two-thirds of total food exports. Of these, two main categories account for more than half the total – processed meat products (meat and veal, sheepmeat and pigmeat, including bacon, ham and smallgoods), and processed dairy products (cheese, milk powder and fresh milk). Another significant category is beverages (12.5%), including Australia’s successful wine exports.

Other major categories are listed in the table on p81, which shows the variety of products available from Australia’s capacious and often innovative larder – from meat to seafood, noodles to nuts, salt and spices.
An overview of some of Australia’s key and emerging food industries is provided below, including dairy, horticulture, olive oil, seafood, wine and organic food products.

Dairy
The Australian dairy industry is a world-class producer of milk and dairy products, using innovative technology developed through industry-owned research and development. Australia’s proximity to markets in Asia makes it a competitive and reliable supplier of fresh dairy produce in particular, while Australia’s dairy product range covers fresh and manufactured pro-ducts including milk, milk powder, cheese, yoghurt and dairy desserts, butter, butter oil, casein and whey products.

Australia also caters for global consumers demanding greater differentiation of milk products such as lactose-free, ‘extra frothing’ milk for cappuccinos, calcium-enriched skim milks and long-life products. Processors and manufacturers are increasingly presenting products with consumer appeal to people of all ages through additional flavours, pack sizes, added beneficial bacteria and artificial sweeteners.

Australia’s competitive and high quality dairy produce has found significant markets in Europe, North America and the Middle East, across sectors including retail, food service and food manufacturing.

Olive oil
The production of olive oil is an example of an emerging and rapidly-growing industry in Australia, with recent significant investments in new olive groves. There are shortly to be more than 7.5m trees planted across the various Australian states, with total production of olive oil expected to reach 28,000 tonnes by 2006.
Australia has an array of premium olive oils available for export, and Australian suppliers are now starting to win recognition for their product by winning awards at international trade exhibitions.

Horticulture
Australia’s horticulture industry is well established, producing a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, cut flowers and nursery products recognised internationally for strict production standards, high quality products and a sophisticated supply chain.

Diverse climatic conditions allow Australia both to supply counter-seasonal products to the northern hemisphere and to compete favourably with other southern hemisphere producers. A huge range of fruit and vegetables are available at various levels of processing, including dried, canned, juiced and frozen, marketed to retail, food service and convenience food sectors worldwide.

The vegetable sector is the largest horticultural segment, producing more than 3m tonnes, with a gross value in excess of A$2.6bn in 2000. Production of Asian vegetables (including bok choy, Chinese spinach, Chinese cabbage, bitter gourd, taro and radish) and herbs (including hot mint, chillies and coriander) are emerging as new segments of the Australian vegetable industry, with increasing sales, both domestic and export.

Organic food
With more than 7.6m hectares (18.8m acres) of land certified for organic production in Australia, the organic sector encompasses a wide range of industries, including grains and pulses, horticulture, viticulture, beef, pork, poultry, dairy, honey, edible oils and an increasing range of processed food and consumer products.
Organic production has been growing steadily, with an estimated 2000 organic producers, processors, retailers, wholesalers and exporters in operation. The strengths of Australia’s organic industry include the availability of relatively ‘clean’ land, with highly regarded organic certification and quality assurance programs. As well as industry innovation and expanding diversity of processed and value-added products, Australian producers also offer sophisticated presentation and packaging to specific market needs.

Seafood
Australia’s seafood and aquaculture products are another area where Australia has global competitive advantages due to its clean environment, a concentration of high-value species, innovation in production and packaging, and a firm research base. With one of the longest, most diverse coastlines in the world – from the Antarctic continent and Southern Ocean to the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, Timor Sea, Torres Strait and Coral Sea – Australia delivers a unique range of species that are free from disease and pollution.

Key species currently farmed are pearls and Southern Bluefin tuna, followed by prawns, oysters, mussels, abalone, yabbies, red claw and marron. Other species being farmed include eel, scallop, giant crab, crocodile, aquarium fish and native fish. Fish and seafood products are exported live, fresh, chilled or frozen, either whole or as fillets. There are also exports of canned, dried, salted and smoked products.

Sophisticated processing and packaging technologies ensure that there is high recovery and improved quality of Australian aquaculture exports. Products are known worldwide for their freshness, quality and disease-free status. Australia’s diverse salt and freshwater habitats mean that counter-seasonal supplies of both temperate and tropical species are available for export. Delivery of Australia’s quality fisheries products, fresh to markets often thousands of kilometres away, requires a disciplined and complex approach, with superior handling and transport technologies.

Wine
Australia is a leading producer of premium quality and branded wines, exporting to more than 85 countries. Export sales of Australian wine reached a record A$2.1bn in fiscal year 2001/2.

Drawn from more than 60 regions, wine grapes are processed at more than 1600 wineries nationwide. Soil biodiversity, good natural climate and effectively-managed climatic conditions ensure that each wine-growing region produces grapes with distinctive characteristics reflecting the richness and diversity of the land. This enables wine producers to constantly explore and develop innovative wine styles that emphasise complexity and depth of flavour.

The Australian wine industry has established state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities for processing, bottling, storage, labelling and packaging. Technical innovation at all levels of production – from the vineyard to the winery – has enabled the sourcing of better quality fruit with greater efficiency. Providing for greater control in producing quality fruit, Australia has developed expertise in mechanical harvesting, pruning and trellising methods, computer monitoring, and management of irrigation and soil nutrient requirements.

Websites:
www.austrade.gov.au
www.nfis.com.au
www.affa.gov.au
www.aqis.gov.au (quarantine)
www.customs.gov.au