The New BOOM – What is Government’s role?
It is hard to believe that the consumer class emerging from Mumbai to Shanghai will reach 3 billion people by 2050. That is a lot of mouths to feed!
Australian governments across the board have identified the national food industry as being exceptionally well placed to capitalise on this dynamic in the markets to our north. But what is the most valuable role that government can play from here on out?
It is our view the macro policy settings are either right, or heading in the right direction. For example, we have, or are working on:
- Free Trade Agreements;
- Targeted Grants Programs;
- International Business Offices;
- Export Strategies; and
- Industry Roundtables
…… to name a few.
What we also know is that it is extremely time consuming and expensive for Australian food and fibre producers to establish a sustainable foothold in new offshore markets. Especially where there are substantial cultural differences to be negotiated.
It is here that there is an apparent disconnect between policy settings and achieving aspirational targets.
About the only Australian entities that can tough it out in establishing new markets are the big players who are doing it anyway.
The challenge therefore is to focus on action that pulls our mid-tier and smaller producers into the exporting mix.
These are the businesses that are unlikely to have the resources, or the inclination to dig deep into their pockets and spend considerable time away from their enterprises to make the most of this evolving landscape. They also produce some of the nation’s most sought after products.
So what should be done?
We are of the view that there are plenty of activities that could be undertaken to make it worthwhile for our more boutique and niche suppliers to join this potential gold rush; such as national/state/sectoral branding, educational and cultural exchange, international office and secretarial support, and an event schedule that includes regional showcases of what Australia has to offer the world.
A lot of the big picture work has already been carried out. It is now time to create an environment that sees our producers making the most of government policy and international infrastructure to truly incentivise them to take their products to the world.
ICG sees taking these actions as translating the bigger picture into stronger regional communities, more employment, and more profitable and innovative businesses. This makes both economic and political sense.
As Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest recently observed, we need a “Team Australia” and ICG’s expertise can help deliver on these aspirations.