The Red Meat Action Group supports the Australian Beef Association in its call for a Judicial Inquiry into the Australian Beef Industry. The current state of affairs, exacerbated by the gas crisis, facing Western Australian beef producers particularly and as a result the entire industry, clearly demonstrates the need for such action. World cattle prices continue to rise, while Western Australian producers receive prices similar to the 1980’s, all while Western Australian consumers are faced with paying the highest retail beef prices in the country; – if not the world.

The complete and utter nonsense put forward by Woolworths in a recent letter to a Western Australian rural magazine, rebuking the RMAG and ABA claims, confirm the need for a Judicial Inquiry. Woolworths now say they used a particular $10 cut of beef to demonstrate how little return they make on beef sales, when paying the producer $3.80 for the product. This Woolworths assertion not only shows our claims to be true but treats producers with contempt and shows why many producers now hold Woolworths in such low esteem. If Woolworth’s returns on beef sales are as low as they claim, one must ask why they continue to sell beef. It isn’t good enough to keep saying they support WA producers with selling nearly 100% West Australian beef. The question needs to be asked, at what cost to producers and ultimately the WA industry, does this pontificating equate to?

The RMAG recently provided the ACCC with information to prove that someone post processor is rorting the industry and placing its future in jeopardy. The information showed that $3.80 paid for a 250kg HSCW grain fed yearling equated to a boned out price of $5.13/kg for the resultant 185kg retail product in the carton. At the time the processors sold this product for $6.00/kg, which eventually retailed for an average $16.00/kg, a margin of $10.00/kg. This means producers, lotfeeders and processors, combined, have the greatest costs and risk, and are forced to share a miserly 37.5% of the consumer dollar, while the retailer grabs the lion share of 62.5%. One has to question Woolworth’s claim of 3% profit on meat sales, when their cabinets offer beef cuts dearer than that in Tokyo and the Japanese have to pay an additional 38% tariff, while Woolworths do not.

Until the retail giants get their heads out of the sand and treat producers with the respect they deserve, RMAG will continue to support ABA in applying pressure on those sectors of industry, including the large retailers, MLA and Cattle Council, which fail to recognise the plight of the industry. The State and Federal Governments must also share in the blame for not being prepared to acknowledge the plight of the entire Australian food production sector at a time of world food shortages and rapidly escalating production costs.

The RMAG calls on Federal Minister Burke to establish a Judicial Inquiry into the Australian Meat Industry with special reference to Western Australia.

Contact Gary Buller
Chairman, Red Meat Action Group

It sounds like Australian producers in general share similar concerns. However, unfortunately, like so many other issues, Australian production issues just don’t seem to rate at the moment as Govt. is blind-sided by the gross amount resources (read, ‘global demand for sand from our pit’) is bringing in as distinct from the pain being felt in *many* other areas that iron ore production doesn’t assist (and which are in fact being hindered by it)!
Keep pluggin’ – ‘democracy’ will hopefully come home to roost one day.