Grow
All Victorians benefit from a strong and growing agriculture sector, and the jobs that it supports. It puts food on our plates and sustains many of our regional communities.
To continue to have a strong, growing agriculture sector that generates jobs and supports thriving communities, we must seize growth opportunities.
Maintaining access to export markets, diversifying into new markets and developing new and emerging industries, such as alternative proteins and native foods, present significant growth opportunities for Victoria’s agriculture sector.
As we move towards 2030, Victorian agriculture needs to continue to grow and adapt to the challenges and opportunities it faces while ensuring Victoria is the leading food and fibre exporter in Australia.
Agriculture is a vibrant, diverse sector with multiple opportunities to innovate. Seizing these opportunities will help us to stay ahead of the curve and help agriculture grow, attract investment, and benefit all Victorians.
Grow the value and output of agriculture through increased exports, investment, greater diversification and new products
Commitments:
- Support Victorian producers to be more profitable, exporting more products to more markets, more often.
- Maximise the growth potential of key emerging industries.
- Create the right conditions and investment opportunities here in Victoria.
Achievements
Pathways to Export
The Pathways to Export initiative is creating pathways for Victorian agri-food businesses as they internationalise and diversify into new markets.
The Victorian Food and Fibre Trade Pavilion (Vic House) was launched in Shanghai, China on 18 October 2021 to showcase premium Victorian produce, create export opportunities and promote business-to-business engagement in Victoria’s largest export market for food and fibre.
Three in-market specialists were recently appointed in the Southeast Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and China regions to provide dedicated business support services, collect market intelligence, and facilitate in-market engagement in priority and high-growth potential markets for Victorian food and fibre exporters.
Food and Fibre Trade Pavilion (Vic House – China)
The Victorian Food and Fibre Trade Pavilion (Vic House) is an innovative in-market promotional facility in Shanghai, developed to showcase Victoria’s broad agricultural, food and beverage capabilities to the state’s largest global export partner, China.
Vic House provides Victorian exporters with a unique opportunity to:
- conduct targeted product tasting and testing in-market
- undertake virtual business meetings with importers and retailers
- grow their business through new export opportunities
- maintain existing relationships and develop new networks in China
- promote existing brands, and new and seasonal products
- support entry into the China market.
For more information, contact pathwaystoexport@agriculture.vic.gov.au.
In-market specialists
Promoting Victoria’s premium produce to existing and new markets is key to export growth. In 2021 three agriculture export specialists were appointed in key markets including South East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa region, and China to help our agribusinesses to establish more trade pathways.
These agriculture-focused specialists will work to provide insights and tailored advice to Victorian agribusinesses looking to grow their exports and diversify their markets in these regions. They will also promote quality Victorian food and agricultural produce and respond to the strong demand for premium food and beverage products.
For more information, contact pathwaystoexport@agriculture.vic.gov.au.
Strengthening the Native Food industry
Victoria’s Traditional Owners have released a strategy to restore their leadership of the state’s dynamic and growing native foods and botanicals industry. The Native Food and Botanicals Strategy will help Traditional Owners create a strong, authentic, sustainable bushfood industry, maximising the growth potential of this key emerging industry to benefit all Victorians.
It will guide recovery and reclamation of important knowledge and practices by mapping out the actions needed for Victorian Traditional Owners to restore their rights of biocultural species, knowledge and practices.
The strategy is an Australian first and outlines that the best way to turn native foods and botanicals into a major, sustainable industry is to protect its integrity and authenticity.
Case study
Building on Victorian success stories
Since gaining market access in 2014, Victorian grape growers and exporters have experienced significant growth in sales to Japan and South Korea, despite the most difficult economic conditions in decades. From 16 containers to Japan and one to South Korea in 2014, grape sales to these countries have grown to $50.4 million and $14.8 million respectively. This growth is testament to several initiatives and partnerships undertaken over the past five years. We will build on similar success stories, using Victorian Government expertise and various trade promotion tools, from missions to marketing materials.
