A recent study conducted by Roy Morgan found that only 20 percent of Australian businesses have a firm policy for buying Australian-made goods wherever possible. These findings have prompted the Australian Made Campaign to call on businesses to revisit their procurement policies.
“It is worrying to discover that the portion of companies with ‘buy local’ policies in place is so low,” Australian Made Chief Executive Ian Harrison said in their media release.
The research also found that 34 percent of firms had neither a policy nor a preference for buying Australian-made goods, with the top three reasons being Price (21%), Lack of Availability (20%) and Value (14%).
Mr. Harrison says it is even more concerning to find that such a number of businesses have no inclination to reinvest back into the local business community that they operate in.
“At a time when it is clear that consumers, even Government, are placing more importance on buying Australian-made, it is disappointing that businesses are not leading the way,” he said.
The survey also found that respondents who possess a higher degree of decision making on purchasing goods are more likely to say that their company buys Australian-made goods whenever possible.
However, respondents who only make some decisions were more likely to have a lower awareness of their company’s purchasing behaviour.
Mr. Harrison says consumers should look beyond price and put it in a broader context since it is a misconception that Australian products are more expensive than others.
“Products made and grown in Australia to our high quality, health and safety standards offer genuine value,” he said.
“We recognise the pressure that many Aussie businesses are under in the marketplace from cheap imports and the need therefore to keep the ‘cost of doing business’ down, but we urge them to consider local sourcing wherever possible.”
The Australian Made Campaign is encouraging consumers to find genuine Australian-made or grown products at www.australianmade.com.au.
The website features only genuine Aussie products from over 1,800 Australian manufacturers. Products on the Australian Made website have been certified to carry the green-and-gold Australian Made, Australian Grown (AMAG) logo – Australia’s only registered country-of-origin trade mark.
