Australia’s Food and Grocery Manufacturing Facing ‘Extinction’: Peak Body

A peak industry body has revealed that Australia’s food and grocery manufacturing sector is heading toward “extinction” amid challenging economic and market conditions. During a recent Senate hearing, Australian Food and Grocery Council CEO Tanya Barden painted a bleak picture of the local industry. Ms. Barden said that food and grocery manufacturing had faced declining margins prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the situation deteriorated further in subsequent years due to supply chain issues. “In the decade before COVID, food and grocery manufacturers were only able to pass on half of their rising input costs. That led to a falling industry profit from $8 billion (US$5.14 billion) to $5 billion, and over that period, capital investment stagnated,” she said....