South Australian Food Industry | Food South Australia: Feeding Connections

Australia is a vast land. It’s the sixth largest country in the world. From the wide open spaces to the rugged coastlines, the rich variations in landscape and climate nurture distinctive regional food cultures and industries.

South Australia is a showcase of all that is best about Australia’s fresh flavours and products. This is the state that honours tradition – yet mixes it with an openness to innovation. This is the winning combination underpinning dozens of South Australian food business success stories.

Located centrally on the Australian continent, South Australia is the nation’s fourth largest state by size. South Australia’s 983,482 square kilometres incorporate diverse micro-climates and distinct regions, growing and producing an extraordinary range of food and wine. The capital city, Adelaide, is home to most of the state’s 1.6 million population, with regional settlements following the fertile coast and farming land along the River Murray.

Our produce ranges from tangy citrus to luscious stone fruit, quality vegetables, nuts, and pure honeys; from premium seafood from our cold, clear waters, to beef, lamb, pork and poultry raised on rich, fertile soils; and from fine dairy to gourmet processed foods.

Successive waves of migrants to South Australia have brought with them new knowledge, new ingredients and new cuisines that have thrived in the gentle Mediterranean climate. Migrants from all around the Mediterranean, and Asia, have imbued South Australia’s food culture with respect for the very best and freshest ingredients, generously shared. Our gastronomic history is clearly discernible on the plate when you taste the produce of renowned regions such as the Barossa and Adelaide Hills, where the German and Silesian roots of these communities are clear to taste in the smallgoods, pickles, chutneys, jams and baked goods produced today.

South Australia has a proven record of success in developing new food industries too, including establishing developing an ocean-to-consumer value chain partnership for the lucrative abalone market and introducing consumers to products such as verjuice, capers and Australian native herbs and spices.

The majority of South Australian food manufacturers and producers are small to medium enterprises, often owner-operated and family owned. Amongst these are many now managed by successive generations of the establishing family, such as Thomas Foods International, Coopers Brewery, Haigh’s Chocolates, Robern Menz, Barossa Fine Foods, Spring Gully Foods and Beerenberg.

Discover the regions and foods of South Australia

Strong regional branding has built a loyal following for South Australia’s iconic produce and brands. These are the famed South Australian food regions:

Adelaide

Adelaide is a city seemingly designed for food lovers and producers. Located no more than an hour of some of the diverse production regions of the state, the finest South Australian produce comes to the city’s cafes, restaurants and retailers and farmers’ markets. In and around the capital city are numerous food manufacturers, making the most of easy access to their raw ingredients, and to transport for their finished products to their markets locally, interstate and overseas.

Adelaide Hills

The Adelaide Hills are just minutes from the centre of Adelaide. The change in altitude from the plains is the secret behind the cooler climate and rainfall in this region, nurturing some of our finest stone and pome fruits and vegetables. Berries thrive here alongside rich smallholdings producing artisan cheeses and smallgoods.

Barossa

The Barossa is located about 60 minutes drive north of Adelaide. It was first settled by German-speaking Silesian migrants and remains a heartland of German-inspired culinary tradition. It is one of the world’s finest wine-growing regions and a showcase for the great European preserving and baking traditions.

Clare Valley

The Clare Valley is around two hours north of Adelaide and features rich, picturesque farming country producing premium olive oil, free range chickens and eggs, premium lamb and carob. Clare Valley grain is a famous ingredient in the locally-produced organic flour and pasta.

Eyre Peninsula

The Eyre Peninsula is ‘Australia’s seafood frontier’. Located a few hours’ drive or a short flight from Adelaide, this region is home to spectacular coastlines and to South Australia’s wild and aquaculture fisheries producing abalone, tuna, whiting and oysters for local and international consumption.

Fleurieu Peninsula

The Fleurieu Peninsula is an hour south of Adelaide. Known as the ‘perfect peninsula’, this is a region of lush paddocks edged by clear, cold oceans and is home to premium dairy farms, cool climate vineyards, olive plantations and bountiful seafood.

Flinders Ranges and Outback

The start of Flinders Ranges and Outback is a four hour drive from Adelaide, and famous as the gateway to the rugged Australian Outback. These ancient outcrops also hide fertile micro-climates collectively known as South Australia’s northern fruit bowl, growing premium avocado, citrus, stone fruit, and summer and winter vegetables.

Kangaroo Island

Kangaroo Island lies south of Adelaide and is reached via a short boat trip or by air. It is a large island,(roughly the same size as Bali or Long Island in New York) and combines untouched natural bushland with fertile farmland famous for dairy produce, poultry, grains, honey and seafood.

Limestone Coast

The Limestone Coast is the name given to the lands reaching from the world heritage coastline and internationally recognised sustainable fishery of the Coorong, about an hour’s drive from Adelaide. This region includes the tiny 12km wide pocket of terra rossa soil over limestone that produces the internationally acclaimed Coonawarra wines, and a thriving gourmet produce industry producing local honeys and native preserves, while the pastures produce lamb, kangaroo, duck, venison, and wagyu beef.

Murraylands

The Murraylands are home to a co-location of ocean, river and rolling plains, where the wide open spaces produce our finest potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, capsicums, salad greens, olives, and wheat. All this, plus some of our best dairy and livestock herds and more great seafood from the nearby seas, is just an hour’s drive from Adelaide.

Riverland

The Riverland is only two and a half hours from Adelaide and famous around the world for tangy, vitamin-rich citrus as well as the spectacular cliffs and vistas of the great Murray River. Life is lived on the river’s edge here, and award-winning fresh and dried fruits, capers, almonds, olive oil and handmade chocolates are among the area’s signature produce.

Yorke Peninsula

The Yorke Peninsula is just an hour’s drive north west of Adelaide. This is grain country, and at its heart is the famous “barley capital of the world” – Minlaton. This region supplies brewers the world over with premium barley. The surrounding coast features a plentiful harvest of seafood and the area also has a rich mining history. A distinctive cuisine preserves the connection with the Cornish miners who migrated here, epitomised in the celebrated Cornish pasty.

Like to know more? Check out our facts and figures about the South Australian food and beverage industry below.

Like to eat great South Australian produce? If you are keen to experience the best of our regional produce, visit Eat Local SA, where you will find over 200 venues showcasing South Australian foods and beverages on their menus and shelves.

You can also visit the South Australian Tourism website for more information about the regions of South Australia.

Value

Food is the backbone of the South Australian economy. The South Australian food industry is a significant contributor to the state, currently contributing some $16.52 billion in revenue and around 45% of total merchandise exports, valued at $5.22 billion in 2015-16.

One in five workers in South Australia is employed in the food and wine sector. In 2015-16, some 3,400 jobs were created the food and wine sector. It’s a growing industry, adding value steadily to South Australia’s domestic and export income.

Our major markets include Japan, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the United States. Seafood is a flagship export from South Australia, adding significant value to the state’s economy. Among the most famous of our exports are southern bluefin tuna and southern rock lobster, both highly prized in the premium markets of Japan, Hong Kong and China.

Our lamb, sheep and beef are also internationally acclaimed for quality, texture and flavour, while our grain – particularly our wheat and barley, and the malts and beers produced with these grains – are in demand interstate and overseas.

South Australia’s horticulture industry is a significant contributor to export sales, notably for potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, citrus and almonds. And we complete the export platter with around $30m worth of cheese, plus steadily growing sales of butter and yoghurt to interstate and overseas customers.

The state also boasts a thriving food and wine tourism industry, attracting many visitors from overseas to sample the best and freshest produce right on the grower’s doorstep at cafes, cellar doors, restaurants and farmers’ markets.

Quality

South Australia’s food and beverage industry is committed to world best practice for quality and safety.

From farm to plate, South Australian growers, producers and manufacturers must comply with a range of comprehensive quality assurance processes. Our food and beverage businesses are monitored against national and international standards to ensure high quality and food safety.

Australia actively enforces world best practice accreditation systems to protect our food sector and our producers, including through the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS).

The South Australian Government, through Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) ensures our biosecurity is protected with quality assessment programs specific to each food sector, including pest and disease monitoring, and control and the use of chemicals in food production systems.

Our food processors and manufacturers voluntarily comply with safety and handling standards systems such as HACCP (Hazards and Critical Control Points), ISO9000 and sector-specific standards such as the Meat Standards Australia™ (MSA) for beef, lamb and sheep meat and Egg Corp Assured (ECA) for egg producers.

Environment

South Australia’s soils are fertile, yet fragile. Our growers and producers are very conscious of the fragility of our environment, and of their role as stewards of its future productivity.

South Australia is renowned for its ‘clean’ status. Soil-friendly farming methods such as minimum till and mulching are used across the state, while chemical use is minimised. These methods protect the nutritional quality, taste and texture of our produce.

We have a gentle Mediterranean climate that nurtures everything from citrus to seafood, and the state’s topography has created special regional microclimates, such as the tiny strip of terra rossa soil called Coonawarra where olives, almonds and grapes flourish in the state’s south east, the frost-free ‘fruit bowl’ hidden at the edge of the Outback, and Kangaroo Island, where the natural marine barrier protects productive cropping pastures from pest and disease.

South Australia’s highest value industry is food. It’s important to South Australian food businesses to protect our clean oceans and productive pastures, so we do. South Australian farmers are pioneering world’s best practice in natural resource management and the development of production systems that will ensure our fragile soils remain productive and our unique biodiversity is protected for generations to come.

Rigorous biosecurity practices have successfully stopped pests such as Mediterranean fruit fly and phylloxera becoming established in South Australia.

The cultivation of genetically modified food crops is prohibited in South Australia.

Export

South Australian foods and beverages represented 45% of the state’s total merchandise exports and contributed a record $25 billion to the state’s economy in 2015.

Our major markets include Singapore, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Premium seafood is a flagship export from South Australia, adding significant value to our state’s economy. The most famous of these products is the Southern Bluefin Tuna, abalone and Southern Rock Lobster prized in the premium markets of Japan, Hong Kong and China.

Our lamb, sheep and beef also enjoy international acclaim for quality, texture and flavour on the plate and our grain, particularly wheat and barley – and the malt and beer produced from it – are in demand in both interstate and overseas markets.

South Australian horticulture industry, notably our citrus and almonds, potatoes, and tomatoes are exported internationally and interstate.

Government

The food and beverage industry is a critical part of the South Australian economy, and the industry enjoys priority support from the South Australian Government to ensure long term productivity and growth.

The food industry and its peak body, Food South Australia, works collaboratively with a range of government agencies to realise this potential, including Primary Industries and Resources SA (PIRSA), South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC), Department of State Development and the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Government support includes management of biosecurity and quality assurance, research and development, technical and business innovation and marketing. Strong partnerships between Food South Australia and government agencies enable our food and beverage businesses to harness significant branding and marketing support to showcase our produce in national and international markets.

Premium Food and Wine from our Clean Environment is one of the South Australian Government’s strategic priorities. This initiative aims to focus support and efforts of government to best position South Australia to reap the benefits of an increasing international market for premium food products grown and manufactured under the highest sustainable and ethical standards. The Premium Food and Wine priority is underpinned by a commitment to supporting practices that maintain and protect our clean soil, water and air.

Food for thought

South Australian produce is renowned internationally for its premium nutritional quality and our food industry is protected by best practice food safety standards, ensuring food security and traceability.
South Australia is widely considered to be the birthplace of both soil science and wine science. Our research in both fields has contributed to improving quality in production – and better management of fragile natural resources – around the world.
South Australia has the highest quality and flavour seafood due to the cold waters of the Southern Ocean.Compliance with standards such as ISO9000 and HACCP are frequently required by customers as a condition of doing business with a food manufacturer, processor or producer and can be a condition of entering a new export market. Environmental management, sustainability and waste reduction standards are also increasingly included in the list of requirements of many customers for food products.
Rigorous biosecurity practices have successfully stopped pests such as Mediterranean fruit fly and phylloxera becoming established in South Australia. The cultivation of genetically modified food crops is also prohibited in South Australia.
South Australia grows around 30% of Australia’s almond production and Australia overall is now the second largest producer of almonds (after California). Our biggest customer for almonds is Japan.
The value of our seafood exports is increased substantially by efficient processing to preserve quality. This might just involve cleaning, gutting and filleting but the state’s producers also add value by canning and smoking.

Statistics sourced from the PIRSA Food Scorecard 2015-2016.