Live Export

Retail sales hold up against live export fallout

James Nason, 04/08/2011

The fallout from the live export crisis does not appear to have had a lasting impact on sales of Australian beef in the domestic retail market, according to Meat and Livestock Australia’s marketing manager Glen Feist.

Mr Feist said that after a short-term drop in sales in the wake of the Four Corners footage showing Australian animals being subjected to cruel treatment in Indonesian abattoirs, retail activity had since recovered to normal levels.

“Obviously everyone was horrified by what they saw on Four Corners, and it did affect sales in Australia domestically for a few days,” Mr Feist said.

“But Australians quickly realised that it is not the sort of thing that goes on in this country, and that our animal welfare practices are first class and so it has been business as usual.”

What was having a greater effect on retail beef sales was the ongoing and highly publicised price war between the major supermarkets. 

“That has a bigger effect than anything else actually on consumer buying patterns,” Mr Feist said.

“Any price war the consumers win, simple as that, and that is the way it is all the way through history.”

MLA’s mid-year projections released on Monday predicted that further retail price reductions for beef this year as a result of competition among major retailers would drive a 4.4pc rise in domestic beef sales in 2011.

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