Australia’s first ever national agricultural traceability strategy aims to strengthen the traceability system around food safety, provenance and biosecurity.
The first meeting of the Australian Agricultural Traceability Governance Group was held in the first week of March 2023 to launch Australia’s first ever national agricultural traceability strategy. Traceability will enhance Australia’s ability to track products throughout production, processing, and distribution, thereby boosting its export competitiveness. Working with industry and states and territories, the department will be supporting the development of a national approach to improve traceability in agricultural and livestock supply chains.
Traceability is the ability to follow the movement of a product through stages of production, processing and distribution (ISO 2007). The Governance Group is providing guidance on priorities and action for Australia’s agricultural traceability systems. The new agricultural traceability systems include comprehensive government regulation and industry arrangements that enable tracking and tracing of agricultural commodities and products along entire supply chains. The group will be a part of a broader governance framework for the Australian Agricultural Traceability Alliance, which includes stakeholders such as producers, employees, state and territory governments, retailers, logistics firms and data services providers, and exporters. The traceability is achieved at every stage of the supply chain.
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Murray Watt said “ Agricultural traceability provides the evidence to maintain trust as a provider of high quality, safe and sustainable food and fiber products. Our traceability systems will be increasingly essential to opening new markets for our exports, as well as keeping and growing the ones we have to drive our access to premium overseas markets. It’s great to see businesses and governments working together to co-design a future-focused traceability system that proves our supply chain credentials”.
Grants and Funds:
Australia’s Agricultural Traceability Alliance is a coalition of partners committed to improving national agricultural traceability and accelerating Australia’s journey to surpass $100 billion of farmgate output by 2030. By leveraging industry and cross-jurisdictional engagement, the Alliance aims to ensure that traceability initiatives are successful. They will also translate policy into practice across the entire agricultural supply chain.
Further, the government is offering new grant funding under the Australian Trade System Support to cultivate Agricultural Traceability and to promote and protect agriculture measures.
Grant activities undertaken between 2023-2025 will support opportunities to secure premium pricing for agricultural industries, deliver improved traceability outcomes, and provide national leadership. Activities will also support effective responses to biosecurity outbreaks and changing market and consumer requirements.
Traceability for Livestock industry:
Traceability facilitates Australia’s access to key export markets, its ability to respond to pest and disease outbreaks, and ensuring food safety. Currently Australia has an effective livestock traceability system and further efforts will help in remaining vigilant and ensuring to adapt future requirements. Detecting and responding to disease outbreaks is easier when animals are traced faster and more accurately.
Australia’s Agriculture Ministers, Commonwealth, state, and territory, have agreed to collectively work to implement mandatory individual electronic tagging (eID) of sheep and goats born on or after 1 January 2025.
The implementation of Agriculture Ministers’ commitment is informed by a national government-industry Sheep and Goat Traceability Taskforce (SGTTF). The SGTTF has been established to support nationally harmonised outcomes in implementation of eID for sheep and goats and help ensure nationally consistent outcomes.
