The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has called for stronger policy and investment settings to safeguard the long-term growth of the nation’s food and grocery manufacturing sector, as it released a new progress report covering the past five years.
The industry body’s Towards 2030: A Food and Grocery Snapshot reviews the sector’s performance from 2020 to 2025, a period marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, rising inflation and major energy and regulatory changes.
Despite the disruptions, the council said manufacturers continued supplying Australian households and export markets, demonstrating resilience under sustained pressure.
The report identifies rising input and energy costs, ongoing margin compression and investment shortfalls as structural challenges that could constrain productivity and competitiveness if left unaddressed.
“This report shows how important food and grocery manufacturing is to everyday life in Australia,” said AFGC chair Bernie Brookes.
“Despite extraordinary challenges, the sector has kept shelves stocked and supported regional jobs. Looking ahead to 2030, strong policy and investment settings will be essential to secure long-term growth and competitiveness.”
CEO Colm Maguire described the snapshot as a forward-looking contribution to policy discussions, saying greater focus on investment, productivity and competitiveness would be needed to unlock the sector’s full potential.
The council said the findings would guide its engagement with government and industry as it advocates for measures to strengthen domestic manufacturing and position the sector for growth through 2030.
- Further reading: AFGC calls for productivity push in next federal budget.
