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The Australian native food industry: the next big boom?

The native food industry has grown considerably in the last five years and is gaining traction within the food manufacturing industry.

In 2010, farm gate production of the native food industry was valued between $15 million and $25 million. The annual riberry (Lilly Pilly) production alone was between 4 and 5 tonnes, and it’s estimated in 2016 production will increase to between 15 and 20 tonnes, according to Michael Clarke, RIRDC, who was the Principal Researcher on the Australian Native Food Industry Stocktake in 2012.

“With large international companies such as Bonne Maman creating products to include Australian native species in their products, plus interest from The United States, Europe and many Asian countries, the demand could well  exceed those expectations and continue to increase at a rapid rate,” Clarke says.

Jude Mayall, Outback Chef and Deputy Chair of the Australian Native Food Industry, says the perception of the native food industry has changed.

“If you go back maybe even five or six years ago, native food was still something people thought of as chomping on a leaf or eating a witchetty grub. Come up to the present day and people are starting to get really excited about native food,” Mayall says.

“We’re getting food manufacturing companies, pharmaceutical companies and cosmetic companies. Everyone’s starting to look at our native food.”

“We’re doing a lot of scientific research on native food as an industry body and it’s showing some amazing things happening with native food and the Lilly Pilly is one…we’re discovering some absolutely amazing results with all the health benefits,” Mayall says.

The Lilly Pilly has attracted the attention of French jam manufacturer, Bonne Maman, who has collaborated with the Australian Native Food industry to release a Blueberry and Lilly Pilly Conserve.

“There’s a heap of species of Lilly Pilly and everyone knows of it, but so many Australians haven’t tasted it. The industry is still in its pioneering days but having companies like Bonne Maman embracing our flavours, it’s amazing. This is what is going to help the industry as a whole to move forward, to have companies who have really great traditions embracing our flavours.”

Mayall was involved in sourcing the Lilly Pillys for Bonne Maman, and said it was vital to work with growers who know what they are doing.

“The one thing that you’ve got to keep in mind with native food is that it’s all wild harvested, handpicked and there’s no machinery,” Mayall says.

“The other thing is we’re watching the seasons, we’re watching the days…we’re watching the cycles of the moon, we’re watching the climate, the wind, the rain, and then all of a sudden [the grower] says ‘okay they’re ready, I’m going to start picking.’”

“Once they were ready the grower was literally up at 1am and 2am in the morning, he was out picking until 10 and 11 at night. It really was a process that just kept going and that’s just the way that it is, it’s not bringing in the big tractors and shakers because we don’t want the fruit bruised.”

While most of the native food crops are wild-harvested, there is a move towards harvesting, developing cultivation methods and researching the health benefits of native food.

The native food industry also has the potential to fuel employment, “particularly for those living in remote communities, for farmers and for indigenous people,” Mayall says.

“So it’s an industry all Australians can embrace, and that’s why I’m very keen to have big companies who already have an established name saying ‘well, this is worth a try.’”

Above: Jude Mayall, Outback Chef and Deputy Chair of the Australian Native Food Industry.

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