Food SA already receives $2.75 in government funding, but the Liberals want to increase that to $4 million.

Liberal leader Steven Marshall announced his policy at the Haigh’s Chocolates Parkside factory this morning, where he told reporters the state’s food sector had been “starved of money.”

“Historically this has been a bipartisan portfolio,” he said. “Both Labor and Liberal would like to see us grow our exports but we in the Liberal Party believe we need [to give] more money to Food SA.”

Food SA is an industry body that supports local businesses to grow their export markets.

Marshall said increasing food and beverage exports was a key focus of his party.

“At the moment we’re sitting down at around 4 per cent of the nation’s exports and we’ve got to increase this each and every year [from] four per cent, five per cent, six per cent and right up to seven per cent, which is our proportion of the national population,” he said.

Marshall said to achieve this target the Liberals would establish a Liaison Officer Position working within Food SA, open overseas trade offices and continue the SA Food Industry Awards program.

Food SA chairman Ray Borda told reporters the funding would make a “huge difference” to improving the state’s food and beverage market.

“We employ directly around about 140,000 people within South Australia and we are one of the fastest growing sectors within Australia,” he said.

“Around the world Australian produce is in high demand in Europe, Japan, Asia.

“We just need to be able to get out there and promote it more readily.”