2013 has been a tough ride for many Australian food manufacturers and Food magazine wants to know what you think the new year will bring to the table.
During the year, Australia’s largest remaining fruit and vegetable processor, SPC Ardmona was forced to slash contracts from Goulburn Valley growers to compete with cheap imports, Simplot almost closed one of its processing plants and South Australian pickle and condiment processor, Spring Gully entered administration only to be bought back by an overwhelming spate of support from the local community.
The cost of production in Australia is exceptionally high compared to our importing neighbours. The strong dollar, high wages and expensive running costs all impacted on the profitability of local businesses throughout the year.
The issue of keeping key Australian businesses in Australian hands also attracted a lot of attention during 2013.
The rejection of the sale of GrainCorp to North American agribusiness giant, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and the impending sale of Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory have sparked debate over foreign ownership and access to key markets.
On a more positive note, demand for premium Australian products from key Asian markets is continuing to rise, especially within the wine and dairy sectors.
Will 2014 provide a more prosperous outlook for the food manufacturing sector or will the industry be faced with similar challenges to what it experienced this year? What needs to change in order for our food manufacturing sector to be able to compete effectively on an international playing field?
Food magazine wants your opinion! To the right of your screen you’ll see our poll question, with four responses for you to choose from. Please get involved! We’ll publish the results once the poll closes on 11 December.