Resilient Agri-food industry withstands economic downturn

Australia's $200 billion a year agri-food industry is well placed to withstand the national economic downturn and could be a source of jobs for hundreds of workers displaced from other industries, AgriFood Skills Australia said today.

CEO Arthur Blewitt said AgriFood Skills Australia (formerly the Agri-Food Industry Skills Council) was getting a strong and consistent message during its current round of national consultations - with agriculture and food industries saying they were ‘very well placed to withstand the economic downturn affecting so many other industries'.

"This welcome news is adding a very positive element to our national consultations program for the 2009 AgriFood Industry Environmental Scan, having already visited Tasmania, ACT, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland in recent weeks," Mr Blewitt said.

"The underlying message for several years was that a large number of our industries suffered from not having enough workers, particularly skilled workers, during times of seasonal harvesting in industries like horticulture and seafood.

"Some industries were experiencing an ‘agri-food' downturn after many workers left the industry to work in mining or other industries. Agri-food industries are now keen to re-engage workers across a range of jobs and career types."

Enterprises now faced with emerging economic difficulties were reviewing the scale of their workforces. This could see displaced former agri-food workers - as well as new workers - reentering the industry.

Many agri-food enterprises had been holding back their expansion and investment plans while in a ‘wait and see' mode. But the industry's productivity was growing well and employers were very positive about the future - particularly in food production and processing.

"We haven't seen or heard of any trend or intention to cut back on employment in the industry at this time," Mr Blewitt said.

"Indeed, there is a need and a desire for ‘catch-up' to bring businesses to full operational performance previously held back by a lack of skilled people and labour, including seasonal workers. Hence, we believe that the industry is uniquely placed and willing to engage more workers and would welcome the opportunity of looking for ways to assist with the transformation of displaced workers from other industries.

"AgriFood's priorities have always given strong emphasis to attraction and retention, which have been challenges in this industry and the regional Australia. We are currently discussing with industry and government how we can work in partnership to provide solutions by assisting in placing displaced workers into the agri-food industry, and this is a key agenda item for our Board."

AgriFood will hold further consultations in South Australia (9-10 February) and Victoria (11-12 February). A national survey is available from the AgriFood website