Desperate Bid to Save Australia’s Dying Food Manufacturing Industry: Farmers’ Emotional Plea to Buy Local as Imports Devastate Domestic Market
- Frozen imports have surged by 25 per cent in just one year, with over 218,000 tonnes of frozen cooked potatoes flooding the market.
- Tasmanian farmers are at the forefront of the crisis, with many struggling to compete with cheap imports and facing an uncertain future.
- The federal government has launched a $20 million ‘Buy Australian’ campaign, but farmers warn it may be too little, too late to save the industry.
In a heartbreaking development, Australian farmers are sounding the alarm as the country’s food manufacturing industry teeters on the brink of collapse. Tasmanian potato grower Matt Ryan is one of the many who are struggling to stay afloat, with imports of frozen cooked potatoes increasing by a staggering 25 per cent in just one year.
“You can walk around with a pair of worn-out socks or undies for a couple of weeks, and put up with it, but you can’t go without food,” Mr Ryan said, his voice laced with desperation. “The processed food industry is a big part of that, and we’re fighting for our lives.”
The crisis has been decades in the making, with farmers pointing to the 2005 Fair Dinkum Food Campaign as a turning point. The movement, which began in Tasmania, aimed to raise awareness about the importance of buying local and sparked a national conversation about country-of-origin labelling.
But despite the campaign’s initial success, the industry has continued to decline. Supermarket private labels have increased, with many products being sourced from overseas. Dr Louise Grimmer, an associate professor at the University of Tasmania, has been tracking the trend and warns that consumers are unwittingly contributing to the problem.
“If someone says to us, do you look for Australian products and for local products? Of course, it’s really important to support farmers,” Dr Grimmer said. “But when you’ve got households that are struggling and you might have two products and really there’s not a lot of difference between them, but one is a lot cheaper… that’s going to be the product that households select.”
The federal government’s ‘Buy Australian’ campaign is a belated attempt to address the issue, but farmers are skeptical about its chances of success. Richard Bovill, a former vegetable grower and distribution manager with Woolworths, believes that consumers hold the key to saving the industry.
“It’s only Australian consumers by their behaviour that can make these industries stay in Australia and exist,” he said. “If they are not buying the product, these factories disappear and when they’re gone, they’re gone for good.”
As the industry teeters on the brink of collapse, farmers are issuing an emotional plea to consumers: buy local, and help save the Australian food manufacturing industry from extinction.