One of Western Australia’s oldest companies and most recognised brands, Anchor Foods, has received recognition as the overall winner of the inaugural Westpac Food and Beverage Industry Awards, organised by the Food Industry Association of WA (FIA). The Fremantle-based company, which reinvented itself after being returned to Western Australian ownership two years ago, was awarded the Westpac Best Business Award, as well as winning the Innovation Category Award for its Lighthouse Special Purpose... ...Read more »

Western Australian food and beverage companies will take their produce to new international markets at three upcoming major food trade events. Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman has invited local companies to explore promotional opportunities available in India, Japan and the United States. “I’m inviting local food and beverage companies, including wine producers, to promote their wares to the world through the WA booth at the International Food Exhibition in New Delhi to be held... ...Read more »

West Australian Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman has praised the extraordinary recent growth of the organic industry in Western Australia. “Farm gate sales of certified organic produce have increased by more than 80 per cent in the past three years in Australia and the WA organic industry is experiencing a similar rise in demand from consumers,” Mr Redman told members of the Organic Growers Association of Western Australia (OGAWA) at a function in Perth last night to celebrate... ...Read more »

Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has hit out at the decision of new WA Premier Colin Barnett to reject full deregulation of the state’s  trading laws. ARA Executive Director Richard Evans said while the WA economy is in boom time, the thriving local retail precincts in West Australia go dead every Sunday due to ‘draconian and archaic’ retail trading laws. “If Premier Barnett thinks that deregulating trading hours and allowing Sunday... ...Read more »

Genetically Modified (GM) crops continue to polarise opinion, with the WA Opposition indicating they will allow trials of GM canola and permit the planting of GM cotton if they triumph in September’s election. The Labor Government has, however, remained steadfast in their belief that the state should remain GM-free, with Premier Alan Carpenter indicating a moratorium on GM crops will remain if he is re-elected. “I will not, in the next term of government, allow GM crops to be grown on... ...Read more »

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Australia’s largest and most representative business organisation, supported by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Western Australia (CCIWA), has called for greater national awareness of the impact on the national economy of Western Australia’s (WA) current gas crisis, which has resulted in a 30% reduction in supplies of natural gas. This follows a meeting of business leaders comprising the ACCI Council in Brisbane last Friday,... ...Read more »

Small Business Minister Margaret Quirk said today that she was relieved that the Rudd Government had recognised the State’s migration needs by committing to develop a migration plan for Western Australia. West Australia’s mining related boom has left many businesses struggling to find suitable staff and the situation has been particularly noticeable in the foodservice industry. “A range of migration options tailored for WA is long overdue and we welcome working with the Federal... ...Read more »

Federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke has begun his WA tour and plans to discuss the future of GM food production in Australia with key members of the WA State Government. The decision to discuss GM foods with the WA Government comes following concerns raised by WA Premier Alan Carpenter last month. Mr Carpenter called for compulsory labelling of foods that contain Genetically Modified (GM) ingredients and an immediate halt to the approval of all GM foods in Australia until more is known about... ...Read more »

Concerns are growing rapidly within Western Australia’s $5.5 billion food and beverage manufacturing sector that the current gas supply crisis will cause both immediate and permanent damage to the industry, resulting in a loss of jobs, threats to the State’s food supply, and potential jeopardy to important interstate and export markets. The Food Industry Association of WA , which represents the State’s food and beverage manufacturers and associated suppliers, says that major industry... ...Read more »

The full extent of the likely impact on the WA food and beverage industry is still unknown, but the WA Food Industry Association (FIA) has reported that the industry has been “heavily impacted” by the gas explosion at Varanus Island.Harvey Beef, for example, is currently operating at two thirds of it’s production capacity as are large dairy processors, according to the FIA. Companies that operate fryers and other gas operated equipment are cut by over 30% and the only WA food grade... ...Read more »