Victorian Government highlights food production priorities.

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The Victorian Government recently announced its vision for the future of the state’s manufacturing industry, highlighting for the first time alternative proteins as a priority sector in food production.

Victorian Minister for Industrial Support and Recovery Ben Carroll released the Made in Victoria 2030: Manufacturing statement, which outlines the government’s ongoing plans for the state’s $31 billion manufacturing industry.

Victoria’s $36.9 billion food manufacturing sector accounts for a third of the state’s manufacturing output. It exports more than $9 billion in manufactured food and beverage products annually and employs more than 74,000 people.

Within the food manufacturing sector, the announcement includes the following strategic priorities:

Advanced food productivity and food innovation
Growing Victoria’s capacity for sustainable food production.
High new sectors and value added opportunities
Melbourne’s north is developing as a hub for Victoria’s world-class food innovation and value-added ecosystem.

The statement highlighted achievements in Victoria’s food production sector:

SVG Thrive agrifood accelerator in Melbourne
A $133 million investment by George Weston Foods in facilities across regional Victoria
A $12 million investment in alternative protein innovation at the Grains Innovation Park in Horsham
A $10 million investment in the Morwell Food Manufacturing Precinct
Food Frontier Inaugural Alternative Protein Conference in Melbourne
Delivering the business case from the Australian Food Innovation Centre.

In the new policy statement, The Victorian government noted that there was still room for significant innovation and growth in an already strong agricultural sector, pointing to the work of existing R&D centers such as the AgriBio Research Center at La Trobe University and the National Food Innovation Center at CSIRO. in Werribee

To achieve its full growth potential, the sector needs to strengthen links between researchers and industry and strengthen capacity (including data and digital technologies) and invest in skills development, the statement warned.

The Victorian Government’s plans to support the local food industry in capturing emerging opportunities in alternative proteins meet calls from Cellular Agriculture Australia for more government investment in the sector to help the Australian sector reach its full potential as an innovation hub.

“We’re supporting local manufacturers to succeed and create high-value jobs that will deliver greater wealth for Victorians – ensuring Victoria remains a manufacturing state well into the future,” Carroll said.

Read the full Made in Victoria statement here.

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