Facts About Australia's Food Industry
about Australia food industry
Australia’s food industry encompasses a wide range of products. Although predominantly arid, Australia has a range of climates and land types. These include northern tropical areas, high-rainfall coastal regions, arid and semi-arid climates, most of which are used for food production. This variety, combined with cutting edge technology, makes Australia a reliable long-term supplier to global markets.
The beginnings
Australia’s Indigenous people, while primarily hunter-gatherers, had long been modifying their environment to improve access to ready sources of food. Examples include ‘firestick farming’ to attract grazing animals and the use of fish traps. The first food processing industries to appear were the …show more content…
But in the mid nineteenth century, Australia’s processed food industry was to build on its commercial advantages by extending canning to jams and other products. The gold rushes of the 1850s brought around 600 000 migrants to Australia. The increased population immediately stimulated agriculture with farm employment in Victoria tripling in the three years to 1857. The late 1800s saw a period of rapid technological innovation with the arrival of refrigeration, which paved the way for a successful export meat industry, and automation, which revolutionised many processes. The Second World War galvanised the Australian food industry. Faced with new and urgent demand for unfamiliar service rations to precise specifications, the industry advanced rapidly. Existing technologies were modernised and additional ones evolved. Scientific developments driven by wartime innovation gave rise to improved processes, products and product …show more content…
Food accounts for 46 per cent of all retailing turnover in Australia, with total food and liquor retail spending in 2006–07 rising to $106.6 billion, an 8 per cent increase from the previous year. The industry makes a significant contribution to the economies of regional areas through employment, business and service opportunities. There were around 191 400 people employed in food and beverage manufacturing in Australia in 2006–07. Many new industries were established in the late 1980s and 1990s to take advantage of emerging market opportunities. Crops in the fruit and vegetables industry such as Asian vegetables, nashi pears, lychees, olives and herbs were introduced. New aquaculture activities, such as the farming of Atlantic salmon and growing out of wild caught southern bluefin tuna, were established. Recently domestic and international markets have recognised the food value of Australia’s indigenous flora and fauna. Kangaroo and crocodile, for example, are now accepted meat products. The ‘bush foods’ industry has worked to integrate a wide range of native products into the Australian food
Australia’s food industry encompasses a wide range of products. Although predominantly arid, Australia has a range of climates and land types. These include northern tropical areas, high-rainfall coastal regions, arid and semi-arid climates, most of which are used for food production. This variety, combined with cutting edge technology, makes Australia a reliable long-term supplier to global markets.
The beginnings
Australia’s Indigenous people, while primarily hunter-gatherers, had long been modifying their environment to improve access to ready sources of food. Examples include ‘firestick farming’ to attract grazing animals and the use of fish traps. The first food processing industries to appear were the …show more content…
But in the mid nineteenth century, Australia’s processed food industry was to build on its commercial advantages by extending canning to jams and other products. The gold rushes of the 1850s brought around 600 000 migrants to Australia. The increased population immediately stimulated agriculture with farm employment in Victoria tripling in the three years to 1857. The late 1800s saw a period of rapid technological innovation with the arrival of refrigeration, which paved the way for a successful export meat industry, and automation, which revolutionised many processes. The Second World War galvanised the Australian food industry. Faced with new and urgent demand for unfamiliar service rations to precise specifications, the industry advanced rapidly. Existing technologies were modernised and additional ones evolved. Scientific developments driven by wartime innovation gave rise to improved processes, products and product …show more content…
Food accounts for 46 per cent of all retailing turnover in Australia, with total food and liquor retail spending in 2006–07 rising to $106.6 billion, an 8 per cent increase from the previous year. The industry makes a significant contribution to the economies of regional areas through employment, business and service opportunities. There were around 191 400 people employed in food and beverage manufacturing in Australia in 2006–07. Many new industries were established in the late 1980s and 1990s to take advantage of emerging market opportunities. Crops in the fruit and vegetables industry such as Asian vegetables, nashi pears, lychees, olives and herbs were introduced. New aquaculture activities, such as the farming of Atlantic salmon and growing out of wild caught southern bluefin tuna, were established. Recently domestic and international markets have recognised the food value of Australia’s indigenous flora and fauna. Kangaroo and crocodile, for example, are now accepted meat products. The ‘bush foods’ industry has worked to integrate a wide range of native products into the Australian food