Australia Pork Newspaper

Phone: 07 4697 3344 • Fax 07 4697 3532
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Vol 22. No. 9 September 2018 Australian Pork Newspaper PO Box 387 Cleveland 4163 Phone (07) 3286 1833 Fax (07) 3821 2637 Email ben@porknews.com.au
Made in Australia
from imported
ingredients
Made in Australia from at
least 50% Australian
ingredients
Made in Australia from at
least 70% Australian
ingredients
What I mean by this is we believe our levy payers would be more satisfied to know we are acting in their best interests through our activities to achieve better conditions for pig farming than they would require us to be continually communicat- ing with them.
Examples of country of origin labelling with varying amounts of Australian product.
This means those who pay the most levies have the most say in terms of who will be elected to the APL Board and who will be elected as an APL delegate.
Never mind the kangaroo, look for the bar chart
Policy
by ALISTER OULTON Policy Analyst
This has been even more emphasised due to the cur- rent industry conditions where we now believe pro- ducer communication and engagement is more impor- tant than ever for APL.
For many purposes, this has served the industry very well but the negative impact it has is it leaves a portion of our producers potentially feeling unheard and unable to influence the direction APL takes on behalf of in- dustry.
Everyone has a right to their opinion and I hope these producers feel they have been heard, even if they have not been agreed with.
COUNTRY of origin label- ling is now in full swing, hav- ing been made compulsory on July 1, 2018.
Consistent with this obser- vation, we, the APL manage- ment and Board, have been meeting with groups of pro- ducers over the past couple of months in all states in multiple meetings.
I remain continually im- pressed by the high level of business acumen and per- sonal integrity of the vast majority of the Australian pork industry, including our pig farmers.
Australian Pork Limited has been working hard to ensure processors, butchers and retail- ers understand the new rules and apply correct labels to their packaging.
Many of these meetings have been instigated by our standing offer to have a member of APL manage- ment where requested at any grouping of half a dozen or more pig producers.
At our producer meetings, it normally takes a while just to bring the forum up to a level of common informa- tion where balanced conver- sations can occur.
They understand the inher- ent risks of being involved in business, the vagaries of supply and demand and the unpredictable nature of mar- ket forces.
What has become apparent is the kangaroo logo is causing some confusion with consum- ers (and also some producers) who are surprised to find the kangaroo logo does not neces- sarily indicate that the product contains Australian ingredi- ents.
Once we are at this point, the discussion is generally of very high quality and constructive in terms of im- proving understanding and looking at future options and scenarios.
They understand there are no guarantees.
Rather, the existence of the kangaroo is to inform con- sumers that the product was manufactured or made in Aus- tralia – so in the case of pork products, where the pork was transformed into bacon, ham or smallgoods.
before sale.
To ensure you are buying
Anything less than this is likely to be imported pork, often with large quantities of Australian water or other local additives.
Among pig farmers APL has not traditionally had a lot of contact with, there are many opinions about the im- pact of larger producers who may be represented on the Board or through the del- egate system.
It’s our job to do our best to support those most af- fected by present industry conditions.
APL is taking advantage of this public conversation to re- mind consumers that not all
While there may be some imported salt, brine or spices, Australian pork products will typically not contain less than
There is a perception that these producers have too
pork is Australian, even if the label contains a kangaroo logo. Imported pork can be sold in Australia so long as it is heat treated, processed and/or cured
70 percent Australian ingre- dients.
Due to the industry condi- tions and the increased num- ber of meetings we are hold- ing with pig farmers, there is a tendency for those we don’t usually see at pig farmer meetings to be attending.
This is not to diminish the impact on some businesses and individuals the present downturn is creating.
Australian pork, look for the bar chart as well as the kanga- roo logo.
For more information about how country of origin labelling works, please visit accc.gov.au/ consumers/groceries/country- of-origin or contact me on 02 6270 8832 or alister.oulton@ australianpork.com.au
Often these producers don’t know a lot about what APL is doing and as one could expect, there are a lot of questions about what’s
While doing that, we un- derstand the challenge to improve the way we engage with producers big and small across the whole country and that’s what APL will be fo- cused on doing.
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Big and small – engaging across the board
Point of View
by ANDREW SPENCER CEO
SINCE I have been around, Australian Pork Limited has been an organisation motivated more by doing rather than talking.
To a certain extent, this has been a mistake.
happening in the industry, what APL is doing about it and when they can expect some relief.
much influence on the direc- tion APL takes, and that this may be to the detriment of smaller segments of Austral- ian pig farmers.
While this approach is generally accepted through those producers represented on our Board, or through the delegate system, there is a segment of producers who don’t engage with us as much who do require more information about what APL does.
The constitution and struc- ture of APL is one based on proportional representation.
A small number of produc- ers have been very critical of me, APL management and individual APL directors.
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