Cheap food bought anonymously
When it comes to buying groceries, Australians are less concerned about supporting local producers and more so focused on the bottom dollar: price.
A new nationwide poll released today has revealed eight in 10 Australian grocery buyers aged 18 to 64 think price is more or just as important as country of origin when purchasing food, with 60 per cent admitting to hardly ever checking where their food comes from.
The results, revealed in the latest round of survey series Crossman Insights using the Newspoll Online Omnibus, found that half of Australian grocery buyers don’t care where food comes from as long as it is good quality and reasonably priced, and 56 per cent think imported food keeps Australian prices competitive.
Jackie Crossman, MD of Crossman Communications, says said that whilst it’s understandable that consumers are looking to save cash wherever they can, the findings will dishearten farmers and local food manufacturers who are already doing it tough in the difficult retail environment.
“Australia produces some of the best quality food in the world and our growers and manufacturers need our support. If we favour cheap imported food over home grown produce we will jeopardise even more Australian livelihoods and jobs in the agriculture, horticulture and manufacturing sectors,” says Jackie.
The Newspoll survey of more than 1000 Australian grocery buyers found that New Zealand food producers are likely to be the biggest winners in the battle for the Australian dinner plate with an overwhelming 96 per cent of respondents confident in food coming from our nearest neighbour, including a significant 60 per cent who are very confident
The UK and France are also trusted suppliers with around 90 per cent support, but the majority of consumers are suspicious of food from India, Mexico, China, Thailand, and Chile, with support for these countries hovering between 50 and 60 per cent.
Jackie says with New Zealand’s clean, green image and reputation for producing quality food a clear winner with Australian consumers, local industries will need to find ways to effectively compete as more and more products cross the Tasman.
“The threat from Asian countries is much less significant though Australians could easily get turned on to food from South America – in particular Chile which is known for top quality produce – if there was a major education push from that market," she says.
“In this challenging environment, where household costs are rising and consumers are intent on snapping up bargains either online or in the shops, loyalty goes out the window."
Around half of Australian grocery buyers would like to see the Federal Government providing protection to food manufacturers even if it increases the price of all foods, however, Jackie notes that convincing the powers that be of this could be hard when the vast majority of consumers are voting with their wallets and looking at the country of origin. |