Australia's prickly diplomatic and agricultural trade relationship with China is changing the way consumers are shopping and where businesses are sourcing their products.
While Chinese-made goods still dominate much of our household and business purchases, having an Australian-made range has become an asset retailers and manufacturers now find well worth promoting.
The Asia-Pacific region's China tensions, inflamed by Beijing's drastic 2020 import bans and extreme tariff hits on Australian wine, barley, cotton, lobster and beef from certain abattoirs, have coincided with the global supply chain roadblocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Production delays and shipping congestion, particularly in locked down Chinese industrial cities and ports, continue causing reliability headaches for Australian importers and their customers.
"The pandemic brought into sharp focus the benefit of having a balance of supply sources, especially the benefit of a reliable and quality local manufacturing base," said Australian Made Campaign's chief executive, Ben Lazzaro.
"Luckily we had a lot of core industry strengths here and we've been able to step up to demonstrate our domestic capabilities."
"COVID shifted the needle to rebalance quite a lot of our manufacturing and purchasing priorities."
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At the same time, companies wanting to highlight their local manufacturing credentials rushed in with applications to qualify for an Australian Made logo.
Product registrations jumped 400 per cent.
The distinctive green and gold kangaroo logo is considered synonymous with local production ethics, quality goods, and a beneficial return for the national economy.
It also represents "product trust" according to survey feedback from 92pc of Australian consumers.
The farm sector has reflected the trend of heightened consumer and manufacturer awareness.
Gate opportunity opens
Fencing products maker, Whites Rural, was pleasantly surprised when sales of its locally made gates and wire products jumped about 30pc after the company launched the Australian-made Murray brand early this year.
Family-owned Whites had deliberately invested in beefing up its local manufacturing output at Albury after taking over the long-established Frauenfelder business it had been a joint venture partner with since 2015.
The new Murray brand was a logical choice for a business based on the Murray River, said Whites chief executive officer, Michael Kelly.
We were finding a lot of confusion in the market about what was imported or locally made
- Michael Kelly, Whites Rural
Given many rural fencing products sold in Australia originated overseas, Whites Rural wanted to differentiate its locally made range which includes its signature gates, fabricated Stiff Stay and hinged joint fencing, barbed wire and similar products.
"We were finding a lot of confusion about what was imported or locally made, and increased inquiry about the reliability of what was available," Mr Kelly said.
"We opted for a fresh brand to say `these products are Australian, made to Australian quality standards and available when you need them'."
The Murray brand launch followed a $2 million investment in new Stiff Stay manufacturing machinery to double the company's capacity and an 50pc expansion of the Albury site providing more warehouse space and supply backup for retail customers.
Longer term plans include developing wire netting production under the Murray label.
Prior to buying into the 70-year-old Frauenfelder gate business, Whites relied on local contract manufacturers to make some of its range, supplementing its manufacturing joint venture in China.
"We wanted to show our customers we had a broad range to suit their environments and we were serious about our Australian manufacturing capabilities."
Supportive customers
If customer feedback at this year's agricultural field days was any indicator, the move to promote its locally made brand has paid off, according to Whites Rural national sales manager, Matt Stinson.
"It's driven a lot of discussion. Most landholders want to buy Australian products if they're given the choice and the costs work out okay," he said.
"They've got faith in local production standards and they want to see more self-sufficiency in our industry.
"There's also a lot of uneasy feeling about what's happened with China in recent years and our trade relationship, which has made people much more aware of imported stuff."
Australian Made Campaign's Mr Lazzaro, agreed consumers were increasingly more mindful of the origins of their purchases, especially goods sourced from our biggest, and potentially most unpredictable, trading partner.
He said contentious China was "always in the media these days".
Regardless of whether the negativity was exaggerated or not, there was a real perception that relying too much on Chinese imports had made Australia vulnerable.
"We advocate, from a supply and procurement consistency point of view and for performance and safety reasons, there are obvious advantages in supporting Australian manufacturers," he said.
The Australian Made label is registered to more than 4500 locally manufactured product lines with annual sales worth more than $50 billion.
They range from Horwood Bagshaw tillage gear, to tools, mattresses, footwear and automotive accessories.
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Andrew Marshall
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
