Australian seafood

[agnes_jack]

Should we send all our quality seafood overseas and buy cheap imported seafood for our domestic market? Or should we only sell what is in excess of what aussie consumers want?

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

Should we send all our quality BEEF overseas and buy cheap imported BEEF for our domestic market? Or should we only sell what is in excess of what aussie consumers want?

Tony, I am not meaning to be antagonistic - just wishing to make a point.

I had a piece of rump the other night at a mates place (who is a cutter by trade) & works for a company solely supplying export or high level domestic ie Posh Hotels - the steak was unbelievable & unavailable to the average joe (you & me).

It is also a loaded question (i chose not to answer) - did you write the last referendum question for the libs on the republic by chance #

chris

[agnes_jack]

Chris
And your point?

[jockey]

We should do both. Sell it overseas if they will pay us enough for it. It always has been and always will be available for Australian consumers.

If this is about the fishing party policy I suggest you be more spceific - ie a vote on whether we think the party should keep the policy.

[Brissyguy]

You have lost me Chris...

And I didnt see any reference to the FP policy either ???
Maybe I am the silly one.

Lets look after our own backyard first before helping the neighbours with theirs.

[agnes_jack]

Jockey this is simply a poll to find out what mr average thinks about sending the majority of our best quality seafood overseas.
I am not into politics at all nor do I wish to be.

Regards, Tony

[blaze]

I dont think you can buy a good steak, fish, etc unless you buy on the hoof or off the boat.
I know the only way you can get a feed of abalone, crayfish,scallops or a good steak in circular head in tassie is to go get it yourself.
We export all our resourse
Our local community has a thriving farming and fishing industry and export all of it
BUT I have fun catching my own
cheers
blaze

[raefpud]

I remember visiting that butchers shop just to the left down past ur shop tony, and i was shocked to find that the only place in Agnes waters that sells seafood (the Butcher) only had old mackeral steaks and some frozen hoki or something like that, but that isnt quite the case in the bigger towns.

Here in Brisbane i know for a fact i can get most types of the seafood caught locally or throughout Australia, the quality however is a different issue. I can get prawns but i may not be able to get the big 9inch ones that OS markets scream for. I can get almost any type of finfish available except a 150kg yellowfin or southern Bluefin tuna. I can get tuna steaks but they arent sashimi quality. What I cant get is A grade beef, at all, I cant even get restaurant quality beef most of the time.
I honestly dont think that the Aussie consumer, that is fortunate enough to have such a wide variety and huge choice of fresh produce, will be prepared to pay top dollar for the "more desirable" cut or catch of the produce. I would love to buy our top quality beef and seafood in the supermarket, only I like most other Aussies am not prepared to pay top dollar for it, and i'm afraid that if A grade produce was put on the shelves of our supermarkets it would eventually spoil or go off or out-of-date. The fact of the matter is it does cost a lot of money to either grow, supply or harvest a superior product as opposed to an inferior or average standard product - those costs are then recovered by the high purchase price paid by the consumer - mate we cant win either way unfortunately, you are just lucky that everynow and then u get that window of opportunity where u can duck out to the reef and catch those big reddies to feast on. Its sad but true but it seems the only way we can enjoy the fruits of the sea is to catch it ourselves, but then where would the idea of catch and release go? as i said unless lotto numbers come up we just cant win.

[bidkev]

Hi Tony,

I'm not into politics either.......living through Maggie Thatchers era and having 2 sons sent to war because of her politics, finished me for good........and I've been a full-time union rep! :-)

That said, this is how I see it.

It's being exported because it fetches higher prices overseas. Exporters wouldn't go to that trouble if they could obtain a better market price here.

It boils down to the fact that the *average* Australian consumer has not proven that he would pay the price that the seafood attracts overseas.

The above is assuming that the exporters are simply following market forces, although this *may* not be the case.

A "conspiracy theory" abounded in Europe when, via ECC policy, certain foods were exported to other EEC countries where they were bought at a *lower* price (contrary to what I stated above). It was thought that this was done deliberately to make a "home shortage", thereby inflating the home price. What wheeling/dealing went on between the pollies of those countries, and why? Previously to this "ploy" they had simply stockpiled to create shortages but the outcry cost pollies their jobs. You may remember the scandals of 20 yrs ago where milk (which could have been powdered and sent to 3rd world countries) was simply poured down the drains and "butter mountains" were in abundance.

Creating "shortages" is a common ploy in European countries to inflate prices/profits, so Who *really* knows if this is (or is not) the case, here in Oz?

I think the only way that *quality* Oz seafood will stay here is if it is subsidised (which is common practice in Europe), which again raises the question of the fat cats being in a win win situation and the pollies giving away tax dollars to save their jobs.

cheers

kev

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

How do you accertain "what is in excess of what aussie consumers want?" & still supply an export market with quality seafood in sufficent quantity that they will not source elsewhere.

What COULD happen by doing that is our export markets lock us out thru unreliability of supply & our "excess" becomes catfood. The other issues have all been gone over

Australian seafood dominates export markets for its quality. We as a society in general are not yet willing to pay the price asked for quality seafood in a world wide market. I don't know your business as such Tony, but you as a retailer stocking I would say 90% of product on your shelf from overseas would not exist but for the #markets opened by primary trade.

As I said Tony it is also a loaded question - ALL or NOTHING. When the reality is far more fuzzy involving sustainability & management of a resource as a export & domestic commodity within a free market economy (the post regarding WA fishery highlights that).

And a question for you. Why should an Australian citizen who CANNOT or CHOOSES NOT TO eat seafood or angle as recreation #gain benefit from the resource thru export? That is just one implication of your question.

If the second option in your poll read " manage the seafood export so a reasonable proportion of quality stock is available to the domestic market" then it may be a touch better. Would we be willing to pay the dollars for that kind of quality - when average joe aussie complains everyday to me about hiring a $25,000 new car for $39/day ??

chris

[jockey]

Why should an Australian citizen who CANNOT or CHOOSES NOT TO eat seafood or angle as recreation #gain benefit from the resource thru export?

If you don't mind me answering this one - The resource belongs to the entire community, not the pro anglers, not the rec anglers, not the people who like seafood. It is 'unfair' and wasteful to give a resource to one sector of the community and prevent the rest of the community from benefitting from it. Be it mining, farming, fishing, frequency bands or any other natural resource, you have to pay for the right to harvest/use and anyone in the community can (and does) benefit from the exploitation of the resource.

[Maria]

I have to agree with Kev regarding why our produce is sold overseas. That is, that it fetches a higher price on the tables overseas.

However, something that is a thorn is my side is that our produce goes overseas to fetch a higher price, while the average joe consumes second rate products. Now, as far as I'm concerned, I prefer to see the dollars going into Australian businesses, owned by Australians. But, what I would prefer more to see would be not only the profits staying in Australian pockets, but also the Aussies that provide the backbone and support for their businesses to have readily available for them the cream of the crop.

As Brissyguy said (sorry mate, can't remember your name), lets look after Australians before our neighbours. Enough of our industry is lost through poor management, illegal fishing activities and the likes, so lets try to keep what we can make of it in Australia, for Australians.

My ten cents worth.

Ben

[gruntahunter]

i agree with chris...question is stupid as there r so many factors that happen and they are not included in the question.To answer a question one must be able to say yes or no..not maybe .
But as for the republic question chris..it did have a yes or no answer mate.yes or no .lol

[Cheech]

Bloody hell guys. You have all turned this poll into a contination argument of the fishing policy thread.

The question is should our seafood be made available for Aus customers.

Seems an easy enough question to answer yes or no to.

My vote is yes.

The question posed is not about cost. Just availability.

However, if I go to Coles to do the shopping, and now knowing that the fish is probably not local produce, if the local produce was available (and would need to be clearly marked such) and next to it was the imported equivalent, but at a lower price, I would probably spend the extra.

We have already established on a different thread that people with a bit more disposeable income will tend to waste/consume/spend extra. Just because. I think a lot of people would pay for quality given the option. Perhaps not every time, but if you were eg having a dinner party or some special occasion, you would not hesitate to get the better quality if you had the choice. Wouldn't take long for people to catch on to this inported produce information. Currently they just don't know (as we didn't).

And yes,,, I do buy Australian grain fed beef.

Cheech

[peterbo3]

Tony, that is a tough choice. But there is plenty of local seafood to be had. Just like there is plenty of 4/5 (weighs 4 to 5LB ) eye fillet around. Go to a wholesale butcher.



Looks like a lot of people are looking for Aussie seafood in the wrong place.
Go to the wholesale outlets & buy a carton. Too expensive-get a crew together & split a carton.
Aussie Barra IQF & fillets individually bagged-less than $20 Kg
but a carton weighs 12 - 14 Kg.
Aussie Tiger Prawns 10-20 (green)-$22 Kg. Carton weighs 11-15 Kg.
You go to your local Coles & most of the stuff is imported. So go elsewhere.
As the owner of an East Coast prawn trawler out of Cairns I can tell you that product was packed to suit pallets. 64 cartons to the pallet. ALL export grade but a lot ended up in Sydney & Melbourne restaurants. We did not pack prawns in 1kg lots.
Hit the Yellow Pages & all will be revealed.
And it is hard to outlay $300 on a carton of prawns. But if you want the best you have to pay.