WE'VE heard the age-old saying "mutton dressed as lamb," but the issue of product fraud, or lack of truth in labelling, is hurting Australian agriculture.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Globally, food fraud is estimated to cost $40-$50 billion a year, and around $2 to $3 billion in Australia.
To highlight the concern, a report titled Product fraud: Impacts on Australian agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries explores the issues and the cost to our rural sector.
"Product fraud is on the rise and has the potential to cause significant harm to Australia's reputation for producing high-quality goods and ultimately reduce returns at the farm gate," said AgriFutures Australia general manager business development, Michael Beer.
He said to reach the National Farmers' Federation's target of $100 billion in farm gate value by 2030, Australian producers need to be able to mitigate incidents of product fraud to ensure that trust is maintained with consumers so producers can capitalise on changing consumer and market trends.
This report, written by Deakin University, highlights simple substitution or incorrect labelling of a product through to more sophisticated methods that result in consumers paying a premium price for a counterfeit product.
The economic costs to Australian agriculture:
- $500m to $900m for beef and veal
- $150m to $205m for wine
- $75m to $140m for fish, crustaceans and molluscs
- $105m to $200 sheep and lamb
- $80m to $160m dairy
- $105m to $125m wool
- $60m to $120m horticulture
- $90m to $110m wheat
The report was produced under AgriFutures Australia's National Rural Issues (NRI) Program, which is part of the National Challenges and Opportunities Arena. NRI focuses on research to inform debate and policy across rural industries
Corowa district farmer Derek Schoen said Australian farmers had pride in what they produce.
He didn't believe "fraud" or "truth in labelling" breaches were necessarily happening at the farm gate but perhaps further through the supply chain. "Farmers are out there to supply a premium product," he said.
However, he said there had been issues in European countries involving truth in labelling and perhaps substitution.
In fact, quality and delivering a good product was something that gave Australian agriculture an edge in global markets. But there was always room to further product the industry and promote good operators.
Mr Schoen said, mostly, farmers were not dealing with end consumers in the market and if breaches did occur it could be further into the supply chain.
He conceded there were always rogue operators or a minimalist element in any industry.
"There are rogues in everything ... there is always a temptation, but most farmers have so much pride in what they produce," he said.
The report found that while the problem was real and on the rise there needed to be several solutions to curb the issue.
A coordinated supply chain approach was recommended is an important first step to mitigate the potential risks and protect Australia's reputation in domestic and global markets.