Last month the Federal Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud, announced more than $68 million in government funding to
shore up Australia’s agricultural traceability systems.
During the announcement Mr Littleproud said: "Traceability is
key to maintaining our international reputation and securing international
market premiums for Australian producers."
GS1 Australia welcomed the announcement and the strong focus on common
data standards to support traceability frameworks and systems, that Mr Littleproud said could add
up to $1 billion a year to the bottom line of Australian farmers.
He said: “Australia already has strong traceability systems in place, especially around food safety, origin and biosecurity but we can make these systems stronger by bringing them together with a national approach.
“That’s why we’re working with the states and territories and industry to create the National Agricultural Traceability Alliance and National Agricultural Traceability Hub. It will bring industry groups, research bodies, state and territory bodies and governments together. We’re organising a National Traceability Summit so we can all share our ideas and map out how we can work to make the most of this multi-million dollar investment."
Maria Palazzolo, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer at GS1 Australia, says the funding and alliance is welcome news. She said, “We
have been working with Australia’s primary producers, government
representatives, peak industry associations and solution providers on the
enhancement of traceability and trade across the food and agriculture sectors."
"Most recently, GS1 standards including 2DBarcodes and Digital Link are being
applied in the dairy, grape, cherry, potato and meat sectors. This investment will
allow us to leverage these initial programs to roll out a national, multi-sector
solution,” saidMs Palazzolo.
A National Traceability Accord (NTA) was released in November 2021 by the
National GS1 Traceability Advisory Group, representing a non-competitive,
Australia-wide approach to cross-sector supply chain traceability.
At the time, David
Hazlehurst, Deputy Secretary at the Department of Agriculture, Water and the
Environment (DAWE) said, “The National
Traceability Accord is a welcome industry initiative aligned with the DAWE-led
National Traceability Framework. We look forward to exploring how it can
complement existing Government policies and priorities to strengthen supply
chains and build resilience."
GS1 in Australia and throughout the world is working to support government and
industry navigate an important transformation to more digital, efficient and safe
global supply chains.
Ms Palazzolo continues, “We are committed to helping our 2.5M+ international and
20K+ Australian members through public policy support programs and initiatives
including industry advisory, special interest and working groups on issues
including traceability, digital labelling the circular economy, counterfeiting,
market access and trade reform.
“This announcement by the Australian government will provide the emphasis and
direction for industry to take the next steps in enhancing traceability and
transparency at every step in the supply chain.”