The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has called for support for the domestic manufacturing sector and supply chains, which it believes are critical in developing a resilient food system.
The AFGC last week lodged a formal submission to the Federal Government’s development of a National Food Security Strategy. This comes after Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Julie Collins MP launched a national conversation on a long-term approach to food security.
“Minister Collins has demonstrated a clear commitment to strengthening Australia’s food security, and we commend her for launching this much-needed process,” said Colm Maguire, AFGC CEO.
“Australia has a unique opportunity to act now to build resilience into our food system. Importantly, this relies heavily on supporting the domestic manufacturing sector and ensuring efficient, reliable supply chains.”
According to Maguire, the ability to process and manufacture food onshore, transforming raw produce into consumer-ready goods, is essential to national food resilience. He stressed that a strategy that fails to support this capability will weaken response to “future shocks”.
In its submission, the AFGC urges the government to address vulnerabilities in both international and domestic supply chains, including risks associated with packaging and ingredients, many of which are imported from concentrated global sources.
The organisation also highlighted the strategic importance of domestic food and grocery production and called for the National Food Security Strategy to ensure manufacturers have the support needed to thrive in a volatile global environment.
The AFGC will continue engaging and collaborating with the government, industry and the broader community as the strategy progresses.
