Report Buyer, the online destination for business intelligence for major industry sectors, has added a new report analysing the food and drinks industry in Australia.

The publication Australia Food and Drink Report Q1 2009, reports that in October 2008, it was announced that Japanese food and drinks giant Suntory had agreed a €600 million ($750.4mn) deal for Frucor, the Australia and New Zealand drinks business of French major Danone.

The 82 page report shows that in the same month, Heinz acquired Golden Circle, a fruit juice and canned food producer and a month before, Kelloggs acquired Australian natural cereals manufacturer Speciality Cereals.

In a signal that further consolidation in the food and drink sector is probably still inevitable, in November 2008, Australian soft drinks major Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) turned down an AUD7.6 billion ($4.92bn) merger offering from compatriot brewing giant Lion Nathan.

However, authors of the report note that the outlook for Australia’s economy has deteriorated in recent months. The slowdown is being led by a downturn in private consumption, with consumers feeling the pinch from record high inflation and interest rates.

Household spending is traditionally a key pillar of Australia’s economic growth, accounting for around 60% of the economy. However, the report expects Australia’s real GDP growth to register 2.9% in 2008 and 2.0% in 2009, representing a significant deceleration from 4.1% in 2007.

The report further shows that although Australia continues to offer opportunities based on high per capita disposable income and consumption, the country’s major drawbacks include its small population (of around 20 million) and – more importantly – mature and competitive retail industry as well as the rising costs of production.

Australia Food and Drink Report Q1 2009

ReportBuyer Product ID: BMI03358
reportBuyer Product category:  Food and Drink