“In Australia we are lucky because most of our food is grown and produced here. We produce enough food to feed 75 million people. That is enough to feed the entire population three times over.
The overwhelming majority of food sold in Australia is grown and supplied by Australian farmers. We are able to export more than half of our agricultural produce, while more than 90 per cent of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, milk and eggs sold in supermarkets are domestically produced.
Australia is one of the most food secure countries in the world, for several reasons. Australia produces much more food than it consumes, exporting around 70% of agricultural production. We do not produce everything we like to eat however, and imports account for around 11% of food consumption by value.
Australia ranks last on OECD manufacturing self-sufficiency measure. Australia ranks last in manufacturing self-sufficiency among the world's developed economies, with a new report showing the nation uses $565 billion worth of manufacturing output annually but produces only $380 billion.
Australia has plentiful supplies of natural resources, including the second largest accessible reserves of iron ore in the world, the fifth largest reserves of coal and significant gas resources. For a long time, commodities have made up a sizeable share of our exports.
“There's an estimate that Australia has known reserves – so there could be stuff we don't know about – of about a billion barrels, which is about a thousand days' worth.
Unlike most wealthy countries, Australia's economy lacks both diversification and sophistication. Australia's primary exports are in low complexity categories such as mining and agriculture.
Some Australians may be more vulnerable to food insecurity, including: low-income earners, people who are socially or geographically isolated, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse groups, single-parent households, older people and people experiencing homelessness.
Climate change is affecting the quality and seasonal availability of many foods in Australia. Up to 70% of Australia's wine-growing regions with a Mediterranean climate (including iconic areas like the Barossa Valley and Margaret River) will be less suitable for grape growing by 2050.
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As a big country with a relatively small population, we have just over two arable hectares per person, one of the highest ratios in the world. Our diverse soils and climate provide a wide variety of fresh food all year round.
Australia currently exports more agricultural products than we import, with around 70 per cent of Australia's total agricultural production sent overseas.
India, Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria, United States, Germany, and Australia are a few of the countries that are capable of producing enough food and feed to meet their demands.
Despite our reputation as the “lucky country”, the issue of hunger exists in Australia but is largely unnoticed. The reality is that 3.6 million Australians (15%) have experienced food insecurity at least once in the last 12 months. Three in five of these individuals experience food insecurity at least once a month.
There are no extensive areas of rich, adaptable soils like those of the great farming regions of other large countries. In Australia chemical deficiencies in the soil are particularly common. Farmers must often apply fertilizers, including generous amounts of phosphate and traces of numerous other nutrients.
Food waste is also a major problem in Australia. The National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study produced by Food Innovation Australia Limited reported that: Food waste costs the economy around $36.6 billion each year.
Australia is consistently rated as one of the most food secure nations in the world1 . Diversified production, mature supply and delivery chains, and reasonable access operating in a stable society, provide cornerstones for domestic food security and a vibrant export industry.
There are already a number of activities in Australia to reduce our food waste. These include consumer education, investment in waste treatment infrastructure, waste diversion from the retail and commercial sector, food collection for redistribution, and research into high value uses for food waste.
It's one of the fastest moving plates if you look at it horizontally. It moves at around seven centimetres per year, she said. “But vertically there is a problem. Historical data suggests that it should be uplifting by about a millimetre per year, but the data that we've got suggests it's sinking.
Australia's exceptional aridity is the result of a unique combination of factors. Cold ocean currents off the west coast means there is little evaporation to form rainclouds, while the Great Dividing Range that runs down Australia's east coast prevents rain from penetrating far inland.
Australia's population density is low because most of the country's interior is desert (also known as the outback) and presents extremely difficult living conditions.
Domestic crude production has been in decline for some time and Australia does not produce enough compatible crude oil to run existing domestic refineries. Most crude oil production is located long distances from Australian refineries and has better transport proximity to key Asian markets.
The bp decision was attributed to regional oversupply, sustained low refining margins, and the “the continued growth of large-scale, export-oriented refineries throughout Asia and the Middle East.” Despite attempts by Australia's state and federal government to persuade the British multinational to keep the facility ...
Australia has limited identified conventional oil resources and large undiscovered prospective unconventional oil resources. Australian oil production has been in decline since 2009 as new reserve developments have failed to match the rate of depletion in existing fields.