Photo: queenslandcountrylife.com.au

Industry, education and government partnership organisation NORTH Link will use the funding to establish Melbourne’s North Food Group, creating more than 50 local jobs.

Minister for Industry and Employment Ben Carroll joined Member for Mill Park Lily D’Ambrosio and Member for Bundoora Colin Brooks at RMIT’s Food Research and Innovation Centre to announce the Sector Growth Program grant today.

NORTH Link will collaborate with local councils, Melbourne Market Authority, the Melbourne Innovation Centre, leading educational institutes and the Government’s Food Investment Team to support the growth of more than 400 businesses in Melbourne’s North.

Melbourne’s north is well positioned to become a thriving food and beverage hub, thanks to its skilled workforce, highway access to Melbourne’s international airport and the Port of Melbourne, as well as the fruit and vegetable wholesale market in Epping.

Melbourne’s North Food Group will enhance business connections, expand access to export markets, and develop workers’ skills – all part of the Labor Government’s program to support Victoria’s food and manufacturing industry.

The food and fibre sector is Victoria’s biggest goods export sector, with Melbourne’s North alone set to double its output to $5 billion and create 7,000 jobs in the sector in the next ten years.

The Sector Growth Program offers up to $1 million to Victorian-based projects that align with the state’s high growth sectors such as food and fibre, creating jobs and driving growth, productivity and competitiveness of Victorian businesses.