Following a cabinet reshuffle announced today by Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Australia’s Senator Kim Carr has lost his position as Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research to Australian Labor Party member Greg Combet. After the 2007 federal election, Senator Carr, also a member of the Australian Labor Party, was appointed Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research by the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Senator Carr was then re-elected in the 2010... ...Read more »

One of the world’s largest accountancy and business consultancy firms, Grant Thornton, today published its annual international business report on the food and beverage industry. The report highlights several key trends and predictions for Australia, including the strength of the Australian supermarket duopoly and the problems posed by their private label business. In the report, ‘Managing through uncertainty: Food and beverage industry in transition’, Grant Thornton’s Industry Leader... ...Read more »

One million litres of milk will be going to people in need under an historic new partnership between Foodbank Australia and the Australian dairy industry, which is being supported by the Australian Government. The Australian Government has pledged A$4 million over the next four years to Foodbank Australia in this year’s budget to ensure the organisation builds new partnerships with food growers, producers and manufacturers. The Collaborative Supply Program for Milk is the first time an entire industry... ...Read more »

The Australian Food and Grocery Council said today that commitments by both of the major political parties to reforming anti-dumping laws in Australia will benefit Australia’s food manufacturers. Dumping occurs when goods are imported into the domestic market at below production cost or through unlawful subsidies from other foreign governments. The AFGC said that smaller Australian food manufacturers are hit hard by these practices. Yesterday, the Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott launched... ...Read more »

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) today urged the Federal Government’s Future Jobs Forum, at Parliament House, Canberra, to explore new ways of safeguarding jobs in Australia’s food and grocery manufacturing sector. The Future Jobs Forum was a meeting called by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to bring together representatives from business, unions, government and academia to discuss the challenges facing Australian industry over the next decade. Addressing the forum, AFGC Chief Executive... ...Read more »

Australia’s largest ASX-listed dairy company Bega Cheese has announced plans to complete a merger with Victorian-based dairy co-operative Tatura Milk Industries by the end of 2011. Bega Cheese acquired 70 per cent of Tatura Milk Industries in 2007 for approximately A$39 Million. By agreement made between the two companies in March 2011, Tatura Milk advised Bega Cheese it must be listed with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in order to acquire the remaining shares from Tatura Milk Industries.... ...Read more »

Foreign investors continue to target Australia’s lucrative sugar industry, as Chinese-owned Tully Sugar Limited vies with Singapore-based conglomerate Sucrogen to purchase Queensland’s Proserpine Co-operative Sugar Milling Association Limited (PCSMA). The PCSMA, a co-operative sugar mill that is wholly-owned by 214 sugarcane suppliers, is Australia’s fifth-largest raw sugar mill. Tully Sugar Limited, which is owned by the China Oil and Food Company (COFC), already produces raw sugar for export... ...Read more »

A new export certification system for Australian meat, announced this week by Federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig, comes into effect on 1 October 2011. The new system is a co-regulatory arrangement between the industry and government and is known as the Australian Export Meat Inspection System (AEMIS). The Federal Government is subsidizing the introduction of the new system with A$25.8 million over three years but the meat industry must bear the full cost from 2013. Minister Ludwig claimed, “The... ...Read more »

The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology, industry body for the food technology industry, has announced the election of Mrs Jo Davey as President of the Institute, a veteran of the Australian dairy industry. “Jo brings to the position a wealth of experience in the Australian food industry through her participation in numerous facets of the industry including leadership roles in food industry associations and industry technical and research committees,” said a release from... ...Read more »

The Confectionery Manufacturers of Australasia this week ceased operating as a stand alone association to join the larger Ai Group (Australian Industry Group).Ai Group Chief Executive, Heather Ridout, said the industry body was excited to establish a confectionery division within their growing organisation. “As the successor to CMA Limited, Ai Group is pleased to welcome CMA Limited members to the new Ai Group CMA Sector. The new grouping will build and expand on the services previously provided... ...Read more »