Nearly half of all shoppers go out of their way to buy Australian-made produce, while more than a third buy Australian wherever possible, according to a recent survey.
Commissioned by the Daily Telegraph, the survey asked readers about their shopping habits and whether they care where their food comes from, and has shed some surprising results about our weekly shopping habits.
Sixty six per cent of people said that check the country-of-origin labels to see where their food came from before buying, while seventy per cent said they were not swayed by price over origin.
A huge 93 per cent of people wanted more clarification in food labelling with a third saying they would be happy to pay an extra $2 for Australian-made and grown produce.
The Australian Food Statistics 2010/2011 report shows that imports have risen by $500 million in a year to $10.6 billion, with processed fruit and vegetable having the biggest growth, up by $119 million.
As Food Magazine reported last week, research conducted by the Australian Made Australian Grown campaign has shown that while more than 50 per cent of Aussies will buy cheap imported clothes, hardware, furniture and household appliances, 9 in 10 prefer buying food grown and manufactured here.
Australian Made Australian Grown Campaign chief executive Ian Harrison said that it was good to see that buying local food and drink is at the forefront of Australian’s minds.
Earlier this month consumer advocacy group CHOICE released the results of their survey into the country of origin of product ingredients, comparing home-branded products from Coles and Woolworth’s private labels with leading supplier brands, which found just 55 per cent of Coles’ products and 38 per cent of Woolworths’ products were grown or manufactured locally, compared with 92% of market leader groceries.