POPULAR WORDS

Golden Circle has become the first Australian-owned company to enter the canned baby-food market. Premier Peter Beattie, who officially launched the range today, praises the Queensland-based company on its achievement. "Until today, parents could not give their babies Australian-owned and Australian-made canned baby food," he says. "Australia's baby-food market is worth $75 million – US-based Heinz has 89% of the market and UK-based Robinson's has the rest." The Premier also praises the company for what it is doing for Queensland as well as the new markets it is opening both here and overseas. "Two years ago I officially opened a new $17 million food-processing and packaging hall at Northgate. The addition of the new baby-food range has seen the food hall increase its capacity by 40%. "The food hall is now working at full capacity with the baby-food range creating 20 new jobs," he says. Golden Circle uses only premium Australian-grown ingredients for its baby foods – mostly grown here in Queensland. Beattie says he congratulates Golden Circle on seeking to increase its exports. The company hopes to increase exports from the current 8% of revenue to 15% by 2004. "We need more companies to follow this example. And we need more companies to become exporters in the first place. "Only if we increase our exports can we hope to maintain our standard of living. "The new baby-food line and the recent acquisition of the Melbourne-based fresh chilled company Original Juice, and the fruit packing and juicing operations of Excello in Griffith, New South Wales, show Golden Circle is ready to meet the challenges of a global economy," he says.