Mr Albanese on Saturday night told a dinner attended by major food and beverage manufacturers passing legislation to establish the fund was a priority for the government during the first sitting period of parliament for the year.

"This is one of the biggest-ever investments in our country's manufacturing capability," the Prime Minister said.

Mr Albanese said the experience of the pandemic underlined the importance of being able to manufacture goods locally, adding doing so would also act as a safeguard against inflation while building markets overseas.

"Your industry is at the heart of our ambition for Australia to be a nation that makes things here again," he said.

"Where we do even more with what we have, and we do it better."

Last week the Coalition flagged it would oppose the establishment of the fund, a move which would force the government to negotiate with the Greens and independent senators in order to secure the support it needs.

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the fund would fail to address key concerns for manufacturers around energy prices, disrupted supply chains and labour shortages.

The International Monetary Fund has also expressed caution about the government's move to establish off-budget initiatives like the National Reconstruction Fund, the Rewiring Australia scheme and the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund.

In its latest assessment of the Australian economy, the fund urged "implementation of below-the-line activity through newly created investment vehicles should be phased appropriately and, more broadly, a proliferation of such vehicles should be avoided".

But in his first address to the Labor caucus for the year, Mr Albanese defended the fund and slammed the Coalition as "out of touch" over its decision to oppose the scheme.

"The National Reconstruction Fund is about making more things here - it's that simple," he said.

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"It's about revitalising Australian manufacturing and Australian jobs."

Mr Albanese told the food and beverage manufacturers the fund would invest $1 billion for advanced manufacturing and $500 million to "unlock potential" in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food and fibre.

Internationally, the experience of the pandemic, which exposed the vulnerability of global supply chains and the risks of reliance on a narrow range of suppliers, has reignited interest among countries in fostering local manufacturing capabilities.