Steve Spencer, the director of food and agribusiness consultants Freshlogic, said consumers have an influence on food suppliers and consumer preferences are changing, which is putting pressure on the food supply chain.

However, better understanding of opportunities in the market will help the industry.

Mr Spencer highlighted the convenience, casual dining and specialist niches of the food industry, as well as the institutional market, including schools and hospitals, as areas of opportunity for suppliers.

Professor Caroline Saunders, director of the Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit at New Zealand"s Lincoln University, discussed increased returns from exports through trade liberalisation and sustainability.

Professor Saunders highlighted that greater access to the EU and OECD markets for Australian dairy producers could increase producer returns by up to 40 per cent.

Professor Saunders also discussed the concepts of sustainability and "food miles." She gave the example of New Zealand products exported to the United Kingdom that have a lower carbon footprint than equivalent products produced in the UK.

Grant Crothers, the CEO of Burra foods, discussed water use in the dairy processing industry.

Mr Crothers highlighted that dairy farming in Victoria uses 52 per cent of all water used in agriculture in Victoria and that dairy processing in Australia is reasonably efficient in its water usage.

"However, there are few linkages between saving water and economic returns," Mr Crothers said.