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Grants for Food & Beverage industry open under $1.3bn initiative

Project funding applications are now open for Australian food and beverage manufacturers as part of the Australian Governments $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative (MMI).

“Investing in our food and beverage manufacturers will ensure they remain on the front foot and maximise every opportunity to tap into global markets and create jobs here at home,” says Karen Andrews, minister for industry, science and technology.

The initiative aims to scale up productions and aid manufacturers to commercialise their product and operations on a domestic and international level. Currently, Food and Beverage is rated fourth out of six of Australia’s national manufacturing priorities.

“To strengthen our economy, we need to make the most of our natural advantages in agriculture, and that means adding as much value as we can to raw materials through manufacturing,” said Andrews.

David Littleproud, minister for agriculture, says the support will have positive flow-on effects on Australian farmers and agriculture producers as well.

“This funding will open up further opportunities for the development of new products and the expansion of existing product lines beyond the farm gate,” said Littleproud. “That’s good for our farmers, our transport industry and the regional communities they all support.”

This announcement comes alongside release of “an industry-led road map” that will help guide government investment. This map sets a ten-year goal for the food and beverage manufacturing sector.

The map focuses on opportunities including smart processing and packaging methods, products based on health and wellbeing with higher nutritional value as well as increased food safety and traceability systems.

Funding is currently limited to Translation and Integration streams of the MMI, with larger collaborations becoming available in the following months.

Applications and more information can be found here.

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