Page 6 - National Poultry Newspaper

Looking for a drought silver lining – will consumers continue to choose product over price?
THE recent media cov- erage about the drought situation in Queensland and NSW has no doubt increased the awareness for many people living in our cities of some of the vagaries of life on the land, helping remind them how important farming is to the founda- tions of our society.
This has led to a greater desire to buy local pro- duce and if need be, pay a bit more for it.
But when it rains again, will the ‘average’ Aus- tralian consumer simply
return to a cheapest op- tion approach, or can this drought be the catalyst to change people’s percep- tion of locally grown food and fibre and the value they place on it?
Australians spend just 9.8 percent of their house- hold income on food each year, one of only eight countries in the world to spend less than 10 per- cent.
By contrast, developing countries spend a much greater proportion on food.
Ten spend over 40 per-
cent on food, with Nigeria topping the list at 56.4 percent.
While these numbers reflect a common trend across western society and general living stand- ards, other factors also contribute.
For starters, farmers in this country are among the world’s best at grow- ing quality food and fibre for our nation and many more, feeding about 60 million people every year.
Australia ranks fifth out of 113 countries on the Global Food Security In-
dex, with the agricultural sector continually provid- ing affordable, accessible and safe food.
By producing three times more food than we need, Australian consum-
ers have become spoilt for choice and food se- curity is something most wouldn’t contemplate.
Accounting for over 84 percent of domestic food market share, the major supermarkets also play a key role in determin- ing consumer behaviour through their constant price wars.
While this is a funda- mental tenant of capital- ism, in the consumer’s mind it devalues food, what it takes to produce it, and what a fair farmgate return might be.
And “down-down” and “cheap-cheap” seem to have become major influ- encers on shopping habits.
For example, chicken meat appears to have be- come a supermarket ‘sac- rificial product’.
With per capita con- sumption of chicken al- most double the next preferred meat (pork) for Australians, the major supermarkets continue to vie to offer the lowest price to ensure customers come back to their store to source their favourite protein source.
However, most consum- ers wouldn’t consider the impact a $9 cooked chook or RSPCA-approved fresh deli chicken breasts for $8.50/kg have on the chicken meat industry, and most would now (un- derstandably) consider it a fair price – readers of this column would be aware it’s not.
Protracted drought con- ditions have seen feed costs for poultry produc- ers double in the past six months.
With feed costs ac- counting for about 70 percent of the cost of growing a meat chicken and about 55 percent of the cost of producing eggs, this is having a massive impact on the profitability and long- term viability of many
chicken meat and egg farming businesses.
For egg farmers, the combination of drought impacts and supermarket demands is resulting in a 40-50 percent reduction in farmgate returns.
Disappointingly, both industries have so far been unsuccessful in their at- tempts to get the major supermarkets to increase their retail prices.
While researchers of consumer behaviour tell us there is a barrier be- tween ethical intent and ethical behaviour, the in- creased awareness of how the drought is impacting our sector would mean most shoppers are likely to understand it is costing more to grow their food and they would accept any ‘drought premium’ applied.
If this understanding could be sustained, the current drought could be a catalyst for change.
Recent changes to food labelling laws mean it is now easier for consum- ers to choose home-grown products.
So creating a ‘product over price’ shopping ethos would result in consumers playing an active role in helping to build more re- silient farming businesses and rural communities in the future through higher farmgate returns.
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CSIRO community survey goes live
EGG farmers are turn- ing the spotlight on themselves with a new research project aimed at revealing just what Aus- tralians think about their industry.
Australian Eggs, an industry-owned research organisation, has invest- ed in the project that’s being undertaken by the CSIRO.
The research is designed to gain an understanding of community sentiment, with the ultimate aim to develop a Sustainability Framework to help ‘fu- ture-proof’ the nation’s egg industry.
Australian Eggs manag- ing director Rowan Mc- Monnies said the organi- sation is prepared for a ‘warts and all’ report to emerge from the research, the largest consultation program ever undertaken by the industry.
“We are going into this process with our eyes wide open, and a firm belief that our members will be far better placed to develop sustainable fu- tures for their businesses, armed with the informa- tion that emerges from this work,” Mr McMon- nies said.
“We want to get on the front foot with this be- cause if you don’t listen to the public you can very quickly get out of step with
community expectations.” The CSIRO will survey more than 5000 Austral- ians about the egg indus- try as well as conducting an open call for any in- terested members of the
public to hav e their say. Mr McMonnies said the research project had been developed in the context of a growing appetite among Australians to un- derstand where their food comes from and the meth- ods used in its production. “Eggs are a staple food and we believe listening to views about our indus- try is an important part of maintaining community trust,” Mr McMonnies
said.
He also emphasised the
independence of the re- search and said a lot of care had gone into de- veloping a robust survey mechanism to get the clearest possible picture of community sentiment.
CSIRO senior research scientist Dr Kieren Moffat said changing consumer buying habits are having an impact on the industry, with one of the project aims to better understand the drivers of change.
“We are expecting the results to provide real and compelling data that will help create a sustainable future for the egg industry in Australia,” Dr Moffat said.
Page 6 – National Poultry Newspaper, September 2018
www.poultrynews.com.au
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