Over the years, the Belgian food industry has taken up a dynamic position in a competitive market, as indicated by the following figures: Annual turnover: €33.2 billion (2006) With 13.6%, the food industry takes second place of total Belgian industry. Added value: €6.0 billion (2006), or 12.6 % of Belgian industry. Making it third place. Employment: 89,994 employees (2006) This makes the food industry the second largest employer. The food industry is pre-eminently a SME branch of industry.

 

As indicated in the table below, the food industry contains many branches, listed according to turnover and employment (expressed in %).

 

Branches	Turnover (2006)	Employment (2006)
Abattoirs and meat	16.8 %	16.2 %
Dairy	11.1 %	8.1 %
Cocoa, chocolate and confectionery	10.1 %	8.3 %
Bread, pastries and biscuits	8.8 %	29.2 %
Feeding of livestock	8.5 %	3.5 %
Grain processing, pasta and starch	8.3 %	3.5 %
Fruit and vegetable processing	7.1 %	8.7 %
Water and soft drinks	5.8 %	4.5 %
Breweries	5.5 %	6.5 %
Vegetable and animal oils and fats	5.5 %	1.2 %
Sugar industry	3.5 %	1.8 %
Other	9.0 %	8.5 %
Total	100%	100%

  

 

Food-wise Belgians live in the land of plenty. Almost everything’s available at affordable prices. This wasn’t the case fifty years ago, when 40% of the family income was spent on food. Today the figure is just 15%. Food was much more expensive for our parents and grandparents, simply because there was so little of it. Our farmers just didn’t produce enough to feed their own population. The European agricultural policy didn’t exist yet and Belgium had to import sugar, grain and milk year after year to supplement its production shortages. Only the rich could afford luxury products. Despite the price increase of agricultural raw produce during the last months, tasty and healthy food remains fundamentally cheap and available to all.

 

Thanks to our diet, Belgians live longer and healthier than their parents and grandparents. The current life expectancy of the average Belgian is 13 years longer than in 1950. In 1950, eight year-old boys from poor families were on average 4 cm smaller than their wealthier playmates. Since then, the success of the European agricultural policy has led to a major revolution. The average agricultural yield has increased by on average 2% annually during the past few decades.

These days, growth in the food industry is no longer a matter of more, but of better. Better when it comes to ingredients, freshness, vitamins, antioxidants, etc. Because what the food industry wants is a healthy consumer who enjoys his food and drink but eats a balanced diet and therefore eats in moderation.

 

Consumers abroad have also learned to appreciate Belgian food products, as the fast growth of export indicates. In 25 years time, turnover figures state that the export share of the Belgian food industry has risen from 20% to 50%.

 

This requires new products, packaging, sales channels and consumption moments. There is constant innovation to tap this potential. The Belgian food sector has winning cards to face the future with confidence!

 

  

Packaging is no longer an environmental problem in Belgium today. Reusable bottles are being introduced on a large-scale, being ecologically and economically sound and over 90% of one-off packaging is now recycled, thanks to the initiative of FOST Plus and the entire population’s cooperation. This result makes Belgium Europe’s number one. But Belgium also scores pretty well when it comes to prevention. In 2003 in Belgium, 157kg domestic and industrial packaging waste was produced per inhabitant, which is the third lowest figure in Europe.

The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) has brought a completely new dynamic to the Belgian agro food chain, ranging from mixed feed manufacturers, to agriculture and food industry to distribution and the catering industry. This is the result of a unique form of dialogue between the FASFC and the sectors. This dialogue has been transformed into complementary government and business efforts to protect consumer health.

 

• The FASFC completely reformed food chain monitoring on the basis of a new concept, focusing on the chain’s approach and integrating the various inspection departments in one umbrella monitoring organisation; it thoroughly monitors contaminants, works on the development of tracing and optimum quality control throughout the agro food chain

 

• The producers pursue a strong brand policy of total quality; they write guides for guaranteeing quality and food safety per sector, enter into agreements about quality control in consultative bodies per market and organise hygiene and quality control training for their staff.

 

Thanks to this unique cooperation between government and private operators, the Belgian food safety monitoring system has become a reference in Europe in just a few years time.