Food and beverage is a key driver for the South Australian economy and its export potential could reach $3 billion by 2027, a strategy released at the 2022 Food South Australia Summit says.
The South Australia Food and Beverage Five Year Export Strategy found the sector could grow from $2.6 billion in 2021 to $3 billing by 2027 with industry collaboration and federal and state government support.
Food South Australia CEO Catherine Sayer said the strategy was developed by industry and would be led by a steering group comprising some of the state’s most experienced food and beverage exporters.
Ferguson Australia Group general manager Kate Birch will chair the group, with other members including Simon Linke (SAMEX), Kris Lloyd (Woodside Cheese Wrights) and Andrew Cooper (Coopers Brewery).
It will work with Food South Australia and government agencies to address key export challenges, Sayer said.
Birch said the strategy called for a framework to support accelerated growth for existing exporters and enable new exporters to move forward with confidence.
“It’s essential to achieving growth that we recognise and leverage our competitive strengths and collaborate effectively with state, national and industry bodies to achieve export success and build resilience,” Birch said.
Minister for Trade and Investment Nick Champion congratulated the industry for developing a comprehensive strategy.
“This is exactly the type of initiative that will help South Australian exporters as they rebound from a tough few years,” Champion said.
The strategy covers all food and beverage products except wine.
Birch said, “There are challenges not only in fully understanding the priority markets and categories that offer the greatest potential in line with global consumer trends, but also in developing a competitive logistics infrastructure, growing industry skills and investing in innovative technologies, for example,” she said.
Sayer said, “As the peak body for the sector, Food South Australia’s focus is on practical and actionable support for businesses, regardless of where they are in their export strategy development.”
The Export Strategy has been developed under the South Australia Food and Beverage Export Hub program, which was developed to assist businesses to streamline business export development.
It receives funding support from the federal government’s SME Export Hub grant and the South Australian government.
The Strategy is supported by a range of free resources for businesses, including comprehensive market and product category prioritisation scorecards, and in-depth market category case studies available in document and podcast formats here.
