Smart Industry Policy: Food Industry

Fast stats

• Queensland is home to more than 1,400 food processing companies
• Queensland's processed foods sector employs more than 43,000 people
• Processed foods is the largest manufacturing sector in the State
• The largest exporter of Queensland manufactured goods.

Queensland - a processed food hub

Queensland is an emerging hub for food processing and offers a diverse range of production capabilities, from fresh seafood, meat, fruit and vegetables to value-added products including dairy foods, desserts and confectionaries, ingredients and ready-to-eat meals. Queensland's capabilities are positioned in the following areas:

• Highly successful processed food exporting companies
• A diverse range of high quality fresh supplies, produced counter-seasonal to the northern hemisphere and southern states of Australia
• Skilled processed food workers
• National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accredited food testing facilities
• World-class food education facilities
• Advanced food processing facility engineers
• Automation experts
• Food packaging designers and fabricators
• Sophisticated transport and infrastructure networks supporting trade by road, rail, air and sea
• Pro-business Government with a focus on building the food manufacturing sector
• Room to grow
• Close proximity to high-growth Asian export markets.

Who is here?

• Australian Meat Holdings
• Carlton United Breweries
• Gourmet Garden
• Golden Circle
• Goodman Fielder
• GC Hahn and Co
• Nippon Meat Packers
• Nestle Australia
• Parmalat
• Food Spectrum
• Kerry Ingredients
• Snap Fresh
• Smith's Snackfood Company
• OSI International Foods
• Wiley & Co.

Food manufacturing training

Four of Queensland's leading universities offer degree and/or masters programs for people entering the food processing industry:

• Queensland University of Technology
• University of Queensland
• University of Sunshine Coast
• Griffith University.

Location

A number of Queensland's regions are focused on the food manufacturing sector including:

• Brisbane and Gold Coast - the gateway to export and southern state markets and the place where the State's larger food processors reside.
• Wide Bay-Burnett region - excellent water supplies and a moderate climate result in a range of award-winning gourmet foods.
• Cairns and Townsville - a tropical climate offers an abundance of fresh and processed foods based on the region's seafood, tropical fruits and other unique and exotic ingredients.
• Darling Downs and the South West Queensland - a richly fertile region that offers a mix of both hot and very cool climates, and a wide range of excellent processed foods.

Queensland Processed Food Industry Action Plan

The Queensland Government, through the Queensland Processed Food Industry Action Plan:

• Promotes sustainable regional development
• Builds strong industry partnerships and collaboration
• Focuses on industry growth around key domestic and global trends
• Advocates smart food processing, world-class value-adding and market expansion.

Where to from here?

The areas where government interventions are crucial if the food processing sector is to reach
its full potential in Queensland include:

• Regional marketing and brand building linked to tourism and wine
• Skills and training
• Export capability
• Emerging and advanced food processing technologies
• Regulatory environment
• Infrastructure
• Investment attraction to populate the Queensland processed food hub with additional
  world-class food processing companies.

For more information

Download a copy of the Smart Industry Policy and Decision Making Framework

Download a copy of the Processed Food Industry Action Plan

For more information about the Smart Industry Policy and associated industry sector action plans please contact Strategic Policy. Phone: 07 3227 7657.