Australian consumers can be confident in our food security
Australia is one of the most food secure countries in the world, with ample supplies of safe, healthy food. The vast majority of our food is produced here in Australia, and domestic production more than meets our needs even during drought years.
Why is China the world's largest agricultural producer? China is the largest producer of rice, wheat and potatoes in the world and also stands out in the production of corn, barley, oilseeds such as soybeans, pork, fish and apples.
The United States exports more food than any other country in the world. Among the top export destinations of the United States are Canada, Mexico, China, Japan and Germany. A significant share of the total production of numerous vital commodities is absorbed by the US agriculture export markets.
Rice is a food staple for more than 3.5 billion people around the world, particularly in Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa. Rice has been cultivated in Asia for thousands of years. Scientists believe people first domesticated rice in India or Southeast Asia. Rice arrived in Japan in about 3,000 years ago.
“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. We have a very safe, reliable, and efficient food supply chain.
Exporters and Importers
In 2021, the top importers of Foodstuffs were United States ($86.6B), Germany ($44.3B), United Kingdom ($34.2B), France ($30.9B), and China ($30.4B).
China is now the world's largest agricultural importer, surpassing both the European Union (EU) and the United States in 2019 with imports totaling $133.1 billion.
Bologna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, has been named the world's food capital by 2022 readers of the luxury travel magazine, Condé Nast Traveller.
Australia has strict biosecurity controls to help minimise the risk of pests and diseases entering the country. All travellers must meet the requirements before entering Australia. You must declare certain food, plant material and animal products on your Incoming Passenger Card (IPC).
Australia also has a reputation internationally as a modern, safe, reliable and sustainable producer of food. The overwhelming majority of food sold in Australia is grown and supplied by Australian farmers.
Inflation and inadequate welfare fuelling Australia's food insecurity crisis, Foodbank finds. The cost-of-living crisis and inadequate welfare payments are fuelling a rise in food insecurity in Australian households, according to a new report.
Most of Australia's imports in these sectors are sourced from New Zealand – the U.S. is the second largest supplier. Consumer aspirations, both personal and social, along with product developments by suppliers and retailers, continue to be important influences on shopping choices.
Brazil and Argentina are among the world's leading agricultural superpowers. Peru, Chile and Mexico—another agricultural heavyweight of global scale—have become leading exporters of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Between 2000 and 2020, the country's food self-sufficiency ratio decreased from 93.6 percent to 65.8 percent. Changing diet patterns have also driven up China's imports of edible oils, sugar, meat, and processed foods.
Australia's exports are estimated to feed around 36.6 million people. When you add this figure to the population of the country, this means that Australian farmers feed around 61 million people overall. Breaking the figures down further, each Australian farmer produces sufficient food for 600 people for one year.
Australia is an important source of export cereals, meat, sugar, dairy produce, and fruit. Landholdings are characteristically large, specialized, owner-operated, capital-intensive, export-oriented, and intricately interlinked through the activities of producers' associations and government organizations.
Whale of an appetite
The largest animal on earth, the blue whale, puts away four tons of krill a day. That's sounds like a lot, but this animal has a 200-ton body to feed, so that's not a high percentage of its body weight.
Italian pizza is probably the most famous food in the World. Pizza has crossed the borders of Italy a long time ago and nowadays it is consumed all over the world.