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

An Aussie farmer has raised questions after finding 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 the shelves in Tokyo for $18.35 per kilogram, about $4 cheaper than in major Australian supermarkets.

Australian rump steak was also photographed for sale in a Tokyo supermarket at 298 yen per 100 grams, amounting to approximately $28.90 per kilogram.

In Australia, Coles sells cubed beef online for around $22 per kilogram, while rump steak retails at Woolworths for between $28 and $40 per kilogram.

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

Mr Dunlop included a similar Japan/Australia price comparison in his submission to the ACCC inquiry into Australia’s supermarket sector.

He found it astounding that foreign retailers managed to absorb the expenses of international shipping and a 25 percent import tariff, all while offering their meat at prices that rivalled those in the Australian market. 

Mr Dunlop described all the different Aussie meat he saw on Japanese shelves.

'I could see finely sliced product that would be equivalent to our stir fry... and I saw casserole,' he told ABC News. 

'I saw a rump steak and they were all seemingly pretty competitive with what we would be paying here.' 

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

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

'Any individual retailer in Japan probably has at most a 10 per cent share of the market, although there will be some regional differences,' he said. 

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

A spokesperson for Woolworths said in a statement it was 'not really possible to make a like for like comparison between Australia and Japan'.

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

'Woolworths purchases premium cattle to a very tight quality specification, quality which is independently certified through the Meat Standards Australia program.

'In none of the pictures of the Japanese products is this certification visible.'