food industry

The food industry or nutrition industry is a sub-area of the food industry that is downstream from agriculture , in which a substantial part of the agricultural products is processed for human consumption . Smaller companies with fewer than 20 employees per company belong to the food manufacturing trade and are therefore not included in industry.

Historical and scientific classification

As in other areas, the industrial production of food has developed from the corresponding branches of the food trade . Even today, it is less common to distinguish between craft and industrial companies based on manufacturing processes than on the number of employees. In the food industry, the official German statistics cover companies in the manufacturing sector with more than thirty employees. The resulting number of companies is usually equated with the number of industrial companies. In the skilled trades, membership is usually based on membership of guilds, chambers, etc. and not on the size of the company. In the system of craft organizations, there can therefore also be larger craft businesses.

In addition to process development of production and biotechnological innovations played in recent decades an important role (for example in the production of synthetic rennet the technical methods of food production.) For has with the food technology within the process engineering its own interdisciplinary higher education and research developed with specific career prospects within one of the four largest industrial sectors.

Structure and development of the food industry

Food industry in Germany

In Germany , some companies and associations in the food industry have organized themselves into the Federal Association of the German Food Industry (BVE). According to this association, around 5,900 companies with over half a million employees are active in the food industry in Germany. The revenues : amounted in 2016 around 171 billion (168 billion in 2015) Euro , of which 33 (2015: 32.5) percent in exports. In addition, numerous companies and associations in the food industry are organized in the German Food Association, which represents the entire value chain (food value chain) .

The sub-sectors of the food industry include, in descending order of their share of total sales (in Germany):

Meat (21%)
Milk (16%)
alcoholic beverages (9.6%)
Confectionery and long-life baked goods (9.2%)
Baked goods (8.0%)
Fruit and vegetables (5.9%)
Mineral water and soft drinks (4.6%)
Oils and fats (3.5%)
Mills , starch (3.2%)
Coffee and tea (3.2%)
Seasonings and sauces (3.0%)
Sugar (2.5%)

Despite the presence of some very large international companies in the sector, the German food industry is characterized by a very high proportion of medium-sized companies. On the other hand, there is a highly concentrated food retailer as the dominant link in the food value chain , which has now crossed national borders and thinks and acts globally.

Food industry in Austria

In Austria , companies in the sector are organized in the Association of the Food and Beverage Industry of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce . This specifies around 240 companies that are part of the food industry. Around 28,000 employees generate sales of around 6.4 billion euros. The export quota is 59 percent. The most important trading partner is Germany.

Food industry in Switzerland

In Switzerland , companies in the food industry have organized themselves into the Federation of Swiss Food Industries (fial) . The food industry in Switzerland consists of around 200 companies that employ around 33,000 people in 250 production companies. The total turnover of 13 billion Swiss francs (approx. 8.5 billion euros ) is divided into 2 billion francs exports and 11 billion domestic sales.