The initiative is the potential agribusiness surrounding Western Sydney airport – the opportunity to cater to the growing demand for fresh food and vegetables overseas.
The airport is one of the emerging innovation clusters and government infrastructure investments in Western Sydney providing opportunities to grow the industry, said Niall Blair, Minister for Primary Industries.
The industry currently exports $2.5B of food and grocery manufacturing products a year and sells a further $5.7B to interstate and domestic regional markets – international exports grew by 10.3 per cent between 2016 and 2017.
Niall Blair is optimistic that NSW is well placed to meet a burgeoning global appetite for premium produce.
“NSW has a great story to tell across every part of the food and beverage value chain, as our international reputation as a ‘clean and green’ supplier attests,” he said in the NSW Food and Beverage Manufacturing Industry Development Strategy 2019.
The document noted NSW is home to an established, innovative and high-quality food and beverage manufacturing industry consisting of around 3600 businesses which produce almost one fifth of the Australian sector’s exports.
The strategy aims to lay the foundations for the industry to remain a source of economic strength and innovation in the region and across NSW.
“NSW food and beverage manufacturers will need to improve food security and sustainability, enhance production and add value, better connect with the global marketplace, and meet the needs of the future consumer,” the strategy said.
A “flagship” initiative to undertake a feasibility study to establish a world-class agribusiness precinct to leverage the Western Sydney Airport/Aerotropolis, providing better access to domestic and international markets, is now being prepared.by the Department of Primary Industry.
The precinct has the potential to host advanced food and beverage manufacturing with transport and handling facilities linking to the airport and other distribution networks.
Another initiative is to work with regional airports to explore connectivity with the agribusiness precinct in the aerotropolis, and also to establish the potential to create similar “agriprecincts” in NSW.
Around 40 per cent of NSW food processing businesses are located in regional areas.
