Coles, Woolworths are called out by farmer after trip to Japan

An Australian farmer has raised questions after discovering that Australian beef sold at a retailer in Japan was cheaper than Coles and Woolworths.

Andrew Dunlop, a cattle farmer from southern NSW, was shocked to find Australian cubed beef on shelves in Tokyo for $18.35 per kilogram, about $4 cheaper than in major Australian supermarkets.

Australian steak was also photographed for sale in a Tokyo supermarket for 298 yen per 100 grams, which works out to about $28.90 per kilogram.

In Australia, Coles sells beef cubes online for about $22 per kilogram, while steak at Woolworths sells for between $28 and $40 per kilogram.

Mr Dunlop explained that the meat came from the Hanamasa retail network, a discount store known for selling beef at near wholesale prices.

Australian steak was photographed for sale in a Tokyo supermarket on April 20 this year for 298 yen per 100 grams, about $28.90 per kg. The same product can be purchased at Woolworths for as much as $40 per kg

Mr Dunlop included a similar price comparison between Japan and Australia in his contribution to the ACCC inquiry into the Australian supermarket sector.

He found it astonishing that foreign retailers were managing to absorb the costs of international shipping and a 25 percent import tariff, while offering their meat at prices that rivaled those in the Australian market.

Mr Dunlop described all the different Australian meats he saw on Japanese shelves.

‘I saw chopped products similar to our stir-fry… and I saw a casserole,’ he told ABC news.

“I saw a steak and they all seemed pretty competitive with what we would pay here.”

Mr Dunlop believes this situation highlights the dominance of a few powerful supermarkets in Australia.

He explained that unlike Australia, Japan’s retail industry is not dominated by a small number of companies.

“Each individual retailer in Japan probably has a maximum of 10 percent of the market, although there will be some regional differences,” he said.

Australia exports about 70 percent of its meat, with Japan the largest export market in 2022.

Australia exports about 70 percent of its meat and in 2022 Japan was Australia’s largest export market

A Woolworths spokesperson said in a statement that it was ‘not really possible to make a similar comparison between Australia and Japan’.

“Australia produces beef across a very broad quality spectrum,” the spokesperson said.

“Woolworths sources premium cattle to a very strict quality specification, a quality that has been independently certified through the Meat Standards Australia program.

“None of the photos of the Japanese products show this certification.”