WA food innovation precinct to be game-changer for food and beverage industry

A $22 million food innovation precinct being developed south of Perth is tipped to turbocharge WA’s food and beverage sector. Construction of the WA Food Innovation Precinct — to become the State’s centre of excellence for research, development and commercialisation of new AG tech and value added food —— started yesterday, and it is scheduled to open next year. The precinct, in the Peel Business Park, will enable commercial research and development, prototype and market testing of food and beverage products, and networking for WA food producers. The Federal Government provided $21.75m for the build and the State Government is providing $10m to develop a food technology facility within the precinct. The precinct is predicted to create a further 500 direct jobs in the sector and deliver up to an extra $300m in annual output. Shire of Murray president David Bolt said the Australian sector was a major economic contributor, generating $30 billion in export value and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs. He said WA however trailed behind other states in the total value of agricultural produce transformed into manufactured products for overseas markets. Mr Bolt said economic modelling indicated the precinct could increase WA’s food and beverage sector output between one and three per cent in its first five years. He said that equated to between 17 and 51 new food businesses, creating between 169 and 506 direct jobs, and growing output by between $110m and $330m. “A common trend in today’s economy sees enterprises operating independently, with limited access to infrastructure or research and product development support,” Mr Bolt said. “The precinct will be a place where small-to-medium enterprises, research and development institutions, wider industry players including international agri-innovation firms and government entities can test, research and develop their products for market.” Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan described the precinct as a game-changer for the WA food and beverage sector, creating better and more diverse products through research and development, and expanding WA’s market share.