Food for thought

When you lose workers from COVID and the Great Resignation, business can be tough. But when climate, sickness, economy, and the resultant component and food shortages combine, the solutions can seem further away. The $127bn food and grocery manufacturing sector significantly contributes to the Australian economy and directly employs over 276,000 people with 108,000 of these jobs in rural and regional Australia. The sector’s success at keeping supermarket shelves stocked during the early months of the 2020-22 COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of a vibrant sector and robust supply chains for the country. In a report by Siemens and the PLMA, results from an industry survey into the Food & Beverage Manufacturing Industry showed the sector has been significantly impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two to three years. In 2022, the far-reaching influence of pandemic-related regulation and responses has continued to impact the industry. However, the industry isn’t just looking inwards. Almost half of the industry responses in this report show companies are looking into how to deal with changing customer perceptions and focusing on customer value while keeping up with increased and changing demand for new products centred around premium choices, an emphasis on sustainability and the growing plant-based revolution in foodstuff. The food and grocery manufacturing sector provides the products Australians enjoy, use and export every day. This sector takes the fresh produce from Australian farmers and turns it into the iconic products we know and trust. And yet these iconic products are changing. There is a continued focus on investing in innovation and digital solutions driven by necessity and embracing the changes thrust upon the industry and community. About 61% of survey respondents said their primary focus was investing in processes and technology to better manage supply chain issues, while a close second (56%) was working on cost management and operational efficiencies. However, about half of the respondents were looking into how to deal with changing customer perceptions and focusing on customer value while keeping up with increased and changing demand for new products centred around premium choices, an emphasis on sustainability and the growing plant-based revolution. But food selection and supply isn’t the only sector changing out of sight. Transport, new kinds of energy generation for that sector, and new Australian businesses are jumping into manufacturing projects, and taking advantage of new ways of working. Throughout the pandemic, annual inflation rates have been sitting at their highest level in more than a decade, driven by global supply chain pressures, energy and labour shortages, and strong consumer demand for goods. These aren’t going away in the short term. People aren’t going to stop needing to eat. Like the majority of Pakistan, now the Australian foodbowls of Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, floods are destroying grain, fruit and vegetable crops in the ground. Instead of being on the foreign news bulletins, these conditions are now beginning to be felt in our own houses. As the content in this issue of AMT contests, Australian manufacturers are up to the task. The challenges of supply, demand, transport and workforce retention are all part of business and a healthy majority of our industry are looking outside the box for solutions. Companies are looking into how to deal with the changing customer perceptions, focusing on customer value as well as keeping up with increased and changing demand for new products. As the Minister for Science and Industry Ed Husic said on the night of the Federal Budget, the Chalmers paper included $17.2 million to establish a pilot Food Manufacturing Innovation Hub on the Central Coast of New South Wales. And he also established the $15bn National Reconstruction Fund, which has earmarked investments in independently assessed projects across seven priority areas: resources; agriculture, forestry and fisheries; transport; medical science; renewables and low emission technologies. As called for by many industry bodies like Siemens and the PLMA, an emphasis on sustainability and the growing plant-based revolution in foodstuffs is directing switched-on manufacturers into this area. It’s actually quite an interesting time. However, as made clear by the government, the combination of the global conditions make it seem like a solution is a long way off, but we know what we need to do when we do those hard yards. Be inventive and keep moving. There’s a quarter million workers in this vibrant sector and the industry needs robust supply chains for the country to deliver. And people won’t ever stop needing to eat.