Aussie Fish Is Too Expensive

kzrocky on 07/08/2025 - 21:23
Last edited 08/08/2025 - 09:09 by 1 other user

We are surrounded by fish, lots of different types. Why can't we get fish for a decent price, also, why is there no variety anymore?

I remember, we used to be able to buy from the supermarket lots of different types of fish, there's few left. Many other countries have already fished themselves out, they rely on imports, we supply our fish to them, and we are charged a premium.

So dissapointing to go into a supermarket and all that you can get is Barrumundi, Salmon, and farking Ling from Vietnam.
Why cant we be offered the fish that comes from our waters? i.e. Where is the kingfish?

A Tariff on Aussie Fish ;)

Food & Grocery Fish

Comments

AngoraFish on 07/08/2025 - 21:34

+7

Fishing is overrated.
- Crow K on 08/08/2025 - 09:01
  
  +10
  
  Username checks out, whoosh to negvoters
- Duckie2hh on 08/08/2025 - 09:51
  
  +1
  
  Fish is overrated
  - montorola on 08/08/2025 - 09:54
    
    +8
    
    Get the duck outta here!
    - Scrooge McDuck on 08/08/2025 - 18:21
      
      +6
      
      Nothing purchased from a retailer will be cheap in a country with around the highest minimum wage in the world. There are downsides to too much equality.
      - Sinnerator on 09/08/2025 - 10:48
        
        -4
        
        @Scrooge McDuck: the second sentence lacks merit until rich people stop interfering in politics and society
  - Nugs on 12/08/2025 - 11:23
    
    nah, my cat loves it
    .
Lets Go Brandon on 07/08/2025 - 21:36

+59

What happens is we pay top dollar while shipping the same product overseas for dirt cheap. It's the Australian way.
- mapax on 08/08/2025 - 06:36
  
  +21
  
  Similar happens with Austrailian lamb.
  - EightImmortals on 08/08/2025 - 06:49
    
    +33
    
    And gas.
    - 7ekn00 on 08/08/2025 - 09:30
      
      +19
      
      and beef and steel and ….
      - EightImmortals on 08/08/2025 - 09:33
        
        +43
        
        @7ekn00: It's almost like there's something wrong with the people in charge?
        
        7ekn00 on 08/08/2025 - 09:34
        
        +10
        
        @EightImmortals: yep, the uni-party will all be the same way too :/
        
        It's like they are trying to make everything rare / expensive so that we will eat the bugs, own nothing and be happy about it :P
        
        linkii on 08/08/2025 - 12:54
        
        -4
        
        @EightImmortals: It's not the government that sells it. The government just gives the rights to the corporates and charges a levy.
        
        Blame the business owners for making poor decisions and signing long term contracts to sell the stuff for cheap.
        
        EightImmortals on 08/08/2025 - 13:17
        
        @linkii: So if they can sell it Bob for that price, why not sell it to Bill at the same price and not have to pay as much in shipping?
        
        Muppet Detector on 08/08/2025 - 15:39
        
        +7
        
        @EightImmortals: Because Aussie Bob will pay $10 a kilo.
        
        Huzzah in UAE or Sam in USA will pay $40 a kilo.
        
        Whilst Frank the Aussie Farmer must produce 500 kilos for the Australian consumer, he has the resources to produce an extra 500 kilos at no extra cost for himself.
        
        This means, that to meet the Australian market needs, Farmer Frank produces 500 kilos of (let's say beef) @ $10 pkg. which lets him earn a maximum of $5,000.
        
        However, Farmer Frank really wants to buy a new car, send his kids to private school and pop up a few new curtains around the farmhouse, but he needs to generate more money to afford those fine things.
        
        As luck would have it, the resources that Farmer Frank already has access to means he can produce another 500 kilos of meat for little or no extra cost.
        
        The problem with this is though, that if Farmer Frank simply increases his levels of production to produce the 1000 kgs meat his resources are capable of producing, The Australian market only wants to buy 500 kilos, so Frank now needs to sell that extra 500 kilos to another country.
        
        This is where export enters into the equation.
        
        Often, it is first thought that if Frank refused to export and just sold all 1000 kilos to Australia at a much lower price, that this is a good idea.
        
        In the short term, for the end consumer, perhaps it is, but eventually Frank works out that he's working too hard to earn not enough money so he stops producing all meat and pursues an alternative pathway to generate the income he desires.
        
        Long term, this means Australia no longer produces enough meat for their own population, but it also ends the multi billion dollar export industry for Australia as well.
        
        EightImmortals on 08/08/2025 - 16:06
        
        +2
        
        @Muppet Detector: Yes that makes perfect sense but I believe the OP was complaining about the opposite taking place, where farmer Frank sells his stuff to the UAE for $10 while selling it locally for $40. IIUC. :)
        
        Muppet Detector on 08/08/2025 - 16:27
        
        +6
        
        @EightImmortals: I am quite certain that this doesn't happen - well it isn't the entire story taking all contributing factors and market forces into consideration, but for argument's sake,
        
        If Australia would pay $40 kilo for all 1000 kilos that Farmer Frank is able to produce, Farmer Frank probably wouldn't be interested in exporting anyway.
        
        Farmer Frank is a simple man. He really doesn't want a complicated life and would love it if his life was easy.
        
        However, when Frank's efforts aren't appreciated locally and he is unable to generate the income that he needs/wants, Frank has to look to other places who value his time, effort, skill etc more in line with how he values it.
        
        tenpercent on 08/08/2025 - 18:49
        
        +1
        
        @EightImmortals: I don't think it's the farmers' fault. It's the duopolies and olgiopolies who corner both the market for the farmers and the market for the consumers.
        
        Muppet Detector on 09/08/2025 - 12:09
        
        +2
        
        @tenpercent: Kind of.
        
        Farmer Frank sells most of his meat before he even begins to grow it.
        
        Let's say Farmer Frank needs to sell 500 kilos of beef just to break even, he's going to make sure he has those contracts and customers locked in and then goes about filling those orders.
        
        Average Joe Consumer doesn't want to jump on the bandwagon that far in advance, he doesn't want to commit to buying 10 kg of meat at $20 kg for delivery in two years time.
        
        And selling it like that, 10 kilos at a time for delivery and payment in two years time would be an absolute nightmare for Frank. Why would Frank want to deal with 50 individual customers when there is an opportunity to only need to deal with one customer, who incidentally, is more likely to pay for his order rather than chase down 100 individuals who may have changed their minds?
        
        Frank doesn't want to do that.
        
        And Farmer Frank isn't just going to spend two or more years producing that meat and then just hope that somebody will buy it.
        
        Farmer Frank creates contracts to supply a certain amount of meat at a certain price using today's prices and conditions, but not being realised until two years into the future.
        
        Once Farmer Frank is confident that he has a buyer/s for the minimum he needs to produce, then he gets to decide if he can/wants to produce extra and make that available to other market entrants who choose to enter the market at later stages.
        
        If it weren't for the big buyers prepared to buy large amounts of meat, often two years or more into the future, then in all probability, Farmer Frank wouldn't bother producing any meat and Australia would need to import.
        
        This creates a whole other can of worms. Globally, Australia is one of the largest producers of beef. If we stopped producing it (or at least enough of it), scarcity would force significant upward movement in beef prices at a global level.
        
        We only achieve the prices we have because of how much we can produce at prices buyers are prepared to pay.
        
        tenpercent on 09/08/2025 - 12:32
        
        -1
        
        @Muppet Detector: Now re-do your microeconomic analysis considering oligopoly and duopoly and cartel-like behaviour.
        
        Muppet Detector on 09/08/2025 - 12:57
        
        -2
        
        @tenpercent: The prices are pretty much determined by what stage of the supply chain a buyer is prepared to enter the market and at what point in time the seller/producer decides it is worthwhile for him to enter the market.
        
        I don't know how to explain it in a more simple way.
        
        How about approaching it from a different angle?
        
        Let's assume that you need to earn $500 a year every year for the forseable future and you can do that by producing 500 squidgets a year..
        
        You have two potential customers:
        
        CUSTOMER #1
        
        Matthew promises you that he will buy 10 squidgets off you this year, but isn't prepared to make any firm committments after that.
        
        CUSTOMER #2
        
        William promises you that he will buy 500 squidgets off you this year AND will also commit to buying 500 more every year for the next 5 years.
        
        => Assuming Farmer Frank is a reasonably intelligent man, which buyer do you believe he is most likely to choose?
        
        Muppet Detector on 09/08/2025 - 13:06
        
        -1
        
        @tenpercent: I think where you're getting confused is that you're forgetting that Farmer Frank has to grow an entire cow even if his buyer only wants a T Bone steak.
        
        Therefore, Frank has to find buyers for both the TBone steak and the rest of the cow.
        
        tenpercent on 09/08/2025 - 13:34
        
        -3
        
        @Muppet Detector: I think you're forgetting that Coles and Woolworths exert cartel and monopoly like behaviour on producers and customers.
        
        E.g. To farmers/fishers/Frank: Now that we have priced out our competitors and are your main customers we are going to squeeze you on price and micromanage your operations. We will also threaten to cut off our contracts with penalties if you dare try selling your product to other wannabe food distributers.
        
        E.g. To consumers: Now that we have priced out the local butcher, the local fishmonger, the small independent grocery shop, the fruit and veg shop, we are going to squeeze you on price and limit the variety of food stuffs we offer. You have little choice now and you need to eat so we don't care about what you want.
        
        Muppet Detector on 09/08/2025 - 17:33
        
        -2
        
        @tenpercent:
        
        : I think you're forgetting that Coles and Woolworths exert cartel and monopoly like behaviour on producers and customers.
        
        I think that you're overestimating just how much Livedtock Coles & Woolworths buy each year.
        
        Example 23/24 financial year, Australian farmers sold 7.7 million head of cattle.
        
        Woolworths purchased about 500,000 of those head of cattle, presumably, Coles's cattle trading was somewhat similar.
        
        So even if we want to really go wild and round that up to your cartel & monopoly like influence and say they collectively purchase 2 million head of cattle each year, where did the other 5.7 million head of cattle go?
        
        Your "monopoly" purchases less than 20% of the beef that Australia produces.
        
        Time to put that stick down and find another horse to flog.
        
        Between Coles & Woolworths they only work with 12 primary processors to source all of their beef, lamb and pork and three secondary processing sites Australia wide (one each in WA, VIC & Qld) and they only spread that far because of the supply chain efficiency and only having an 11 day shelf life once animal in slaughtered.
        
        tenpercent on 09/08/2025 - 19:46
        
        @Muppet Detector: So are you instead suggesting the other 5.7 million head of cattle are so significantly inferior to the ones the Australian duopoly purchased that the farmers are willing to sell them at such a lower price to overseas buyers than to Colesworths?
        
        Muppet Detector on 09/08/2025 - 19:57
        
        -1
        
        @tenpercent: No.
        
        tenpercent on 09/08/2025 - 21:00
        
        @Muppet Detector: Then what is your explanation?
        
        Muppet Detector on 10/08/2025 - 03:25
        
        -3
        
        @tenpercent: Your first assumption is that Woolworths buys the best meat we produce.
        
        You further assume that they purchase their desired quality at the lowest profit point the farmer can achieve.
        
        Next assumption is that every cow costs the same to grow and same cost to move through the process and supply chain.
        
        Next one is that all buyers purchase entire beasts.
        
        And you've already forgotten, that Coles & Woolworths only deal with 12 primary producers. They don't deal with every primary producer and I'm not aware of any of the primary producers they do deal with making more than 30% of their produce available to your cartel.
        
        tenpercent on 10/08/2025 - 10:18
        
        -1
        
        @Muppet Detector: I'll rephrase since you've avoided the question.
        So what is your explanation that consumers can often get Australian beef cheaper overseas than they can in Australia (especially in the duopoloy supermarkets, who have pushed out smaller grocers and butchers in many areas)?
        
        Franc-T on 09/08/2025 - 10:10
        
        @Muppet Detector: wot
        
        Grazz989 on 09/08/2025 - 11:58
        
        +1
        
        @Muppet Detector: Cool story mate. Except of course that loads of products are found cheaper overseas. Surely everyone has seen at least a couple pics of tim-tams significantly cheaper in Japan or the UK than here? Shipped halfway across the globe and still cheaper?
        
        Nah.
        
        They do it because they need to sell the best stuff at good prices overseas in order to beat their healthy competition, whereas here they know we'll bitch and moan but not have much choice and won't do anything about it.
        
        You're telling me a country with a median income about one twentieth of Australia's, a long expensive refrigerated cargo ride away, is a better market for lobsters than home? You can't pretend they're only selling additional excess stock which costs them little to create on top of local demand.
        
        Muppet Detector on 09/08/2025 - 12:37
        
        -1
        
        @Grazz989: I have only made comments about the production, availability and sale of red meat.
        
        Apart from book knowledge Economics (Law/Commerce Econ major), I have very limited practical experience or knowledge about trade practices and agreements of most other products/markets, so have not contributed to those discussions.
        
        I do however have extensive knowledge and experience in most aspects of the Australian red meat production, quality standards and control and supply chain industry (at both domestic and international/export levels), so do consider myself qualified to make factual contributions to those types of discussions.
        
        I don't know what domestic or international competition there is for lobsters or Tim tams or what they need to do to make bank, but I do know both the domestic and international markets, competition and abilities of the red meat industry, in what way Australia engages and what the Aussie red meat producer has to do to make bank.
        
        If I were really motivated, I could probably even weigh into a discussion about chicken export and international chicken franchise, but that knowledge and experience is less extensive and all less than 13 years old, so still quite new, so I need to be a bit more cautious there.
        
        Muppet Detector on 09/08/2025 - 13:08
        
        -1
        
        @Grazz989:
        
        They do it because they need to sell the best stuff at good prices overseas in order to beat their healthy competition, whereas here they know we'll bitch and moan but not have much choice and won't do anything about it.
        
        Let's say that you have a bicycle to sell.
        
        Would you sell it to the dude who will pay you $500 for it, or to the one who will only give you $200 for it?
        
        Grazz989 on 09/08/2025 - 14:14
        
        +2
        
        @Muppet Detector: Once again, that would be fine logic - if it were reliably true. But it's not.
        
        Putting aside the fact that I would have to pay a pretty penny to ship a bike across the seas first (and even more expensive if refrigeration was required), there's also import tariffs and such too. But your logic completely falls down when the product ends up being cheaper overseas.
        
        https://www.9news.com.au/national/farmer-finds-australian-be…
        
        This article shows recent pics of actual aussie beef, the same type of cuts we get here, being sold overseas for basically the same price as here, despite the far more expensive logistics chain and the 25% import tariff paid on meat in Japan. So either our supermarkets are making >25% more profit than the japanese retailers and we're being rorted that way, or else there's some other rort ripping us off.
        
        What about aussie icons vegimite and tim tams? Well, they're cheaper in the UK for sure:
        
        https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/oct/05/aussi…
        
        Seeing as how they're only manufactured here - Then obviously there's someone making more money by charging us more, and overseas markets less. Just about every industry here has less competition than overseas, and pricing transparency is garbage too. It's interesting to note that products that are retailed here but which have stiff competition from imports (like cheap cutlery as a random example - nonperishible, able to be bought direct online etc), prices are reasonably competitive.
        
        When you're using falsehoods (or even if we pretend it's just representing generalisations as universally true) to defend companies for their profit gouging at our expense, it really comes across in a way that one wouldn't be blamed for interpreting as a shameful kind of shilling.
        
        Muppet Detector on 09/08/2025 - 17:04
        
        -5
        
        @Grazz989:
        
        This article shows recent pics of actual aussie beef, the same type of cuts we get here, being sold overseas for basically the same price as here
        
        No, it really doesn't.
        
        Ok, sure, it is spelled the same and it does come from the same part of the cow, but in what other ways are these two products comparable?
        
        Different cows, different breeds, different yields, different quality, different feed types, different origins, different standards.
        
        Are you confident that you are comparing like for like?
        
        Grazz989 on 09/08/2025 - 20:28
        
        @Muppet Detector: How are YOU so sure all of that is the case? Are you saying that Aussie farmers would go out of their way to have a completely separate herd of cows from different breeds, feed them differently, raise them at different facilities, prepare and judge them to different standards? Are you serious? And do you think the minimum standards for meat in Japan are so low that Aussie farmers can cut corners so badly that a 25% tariff is surmountable purely by shipping a crap product? This is the country that makes Kobe beef man, they have high standards for beef. Just look at the pic, it looks good in fact. Gippsland isn't the only producer selling over there of course, but they certainly do sell right here in Oz as well. How could any of that drown out the cost of shipping overseas + 25% tariff?
        
        But okay - let's pretend that's the case. So what? With the exception of minimum aussie standards (which I'm sure this product would surpass anyway), why wouldn't they just sell this supposedly cheaper beef here in Oz? There would be mountains of people who'd settle for beef they can actually afford.
        
        On the other hand, we don't even need to talk specifically about beef anyway - because you chose not to even address the vegemite and tim-tam products that are cheaper after being shipped to the other end of the globe. Because there's no possible counter-argument a rorting apologist could conjure.
        
        Muppet Detector on 10/08/2025 - 02:26
        
        -2
        
        @Grazz989:
        
        How are YOU so sure all of that is the case? Are you saying that Aussie farmers would go out of their way to have a completely separate herd of cows from different breeds, feed them differently, raise them at different facilities, prepare and judge them to different standards? Are you serious? And do you think the minimum standards for
        
        Matey, different cattle producers have different types of cattle and they each raise them in different ways. All of this happens at a variety of different farms each with their own strengths and weaknesses that ultimately reflect the final cost a farmer incurs to raise a cow for consuming purposes.
        
        As for standards, there are at least two standards that Australian beef is measured by. One is set by Mest & Livestock Association and the other is set by Meat Standards Australia.
        
        Similarly, different farmers feed their stock differently. Some are grass fed, others grain fed and others mixed feed.
        
        Soooo many other factors affect how much it costs to grow a cow, far less send it down the production line to make it available for sale.
        
        Just because it costs Farmer Frank $20 to grow a cow, doesn't mean it costs every other farmer $20 to grow a cow. Heck, depending on volume, first 100 cows may cost $20 each to grow, but the second hundred probably only cost $6 or $7 each to grow.
        
        Even the price that the calves are obtained will influence final cost price. If Frank has 100 cows, somewhere there are 100 mother cows and unless Frank is breeding his own cows (unlikely), then he's buying the calves from somewhere.
        
        Another factor effecting cost between different farmers is whether or not they have any finance on their land, equipment, infrastructure or stock.
        
        Maybe John owns all his non consumables outright but Frank has to cover loans and interest on the farm, stock, equipment and livestock?
        
        How are YOU so sure all of that is the case?
        
        Personally, I've been involved in the industry from farm, abbotoirs, transport and supply chain, processing centres, butcher shops, sales, marketing and export for about 40 years and my father and grandparents for 2 generations before that all within the family business umbrella.
        
        My father created MLA, introduced MSA and was on the equivalent of the first fleet when Australia first started moving into export.
        
        Overall, about 15% -20% of what we produce is eventually found in Woolworths, 40% is earmarked for export, about 25% consumed within our own framework with the remaining 15% made available for smaller, local buyers and consumers.
        
        Sure, I suppose I'm not really a working member for day to day operations anymore, but I am on the board of directors of the family company which controls all this and I've got my finger pretty deep in the pie.
        
        Thus, I'm Reasonably confident that I've got a greater understanding of what's going on than a lot of people, no?
        
        And do you think the minimum standards for meat in Japan are so low that Aussie farmers can cut corners so badly that a 25% tariff is surmountable purely by shipping a crap product?
        
        Now you've just launched into a tirade of senseless hyperbole.
        
        That's not how beef prices are determined.
        
        How could any of that drown out the cost of shipping overseas + 25% tariff?
        
        Once again, you're working on the premise that every cow produced in Australia costs $10 to grow. And that every cow costs $5 to process and transport from wherever they are to wherever they have to end up.
        
        And apparently, also on who assumes the shipping costs.
        
        why wouldn't they just sell this supposedly cheaper beef here in Oz?
        
        More than likely, they didn't have a domestic buyer for it when it needed to be sold. Well that's one possibility.
        
        There would be mountains of people who'd settle for beef they can actually afford.
        
        Well, they're not even buying what is available, I'm darn sure Frank doesn't want to produce even more for them not to buy.
        
        On the other hand, we don't even need to talk specifically about beef anyway
        
        Well, I do. As I previously explained, I don't have much knowledge or experience in the other areas you've mentioned.
        
        because you chose not to even address the vegemite and tim-tam products
        
        Dude, I know absolutely nothing about Vegemite. I don't even know anybody who eats the crap, so I sure as hell don't have any idea about it's travelling habits or marketing or costs when it arrives at its destination.
        
        I do know slightly more about Tim Tams though. One of my kids thinks it's one of his major food groups and my husband and some of the other kids don't mind them if they're around, so I always make a point of including a couple of packets when I do the grocery shopping, but apart from that, I'm completely in the dark and have no business engaging in a discussion about their international travel habits either.
        
        Grazz989 on 10/08/2025 - 12:09
        
        +1
        
        @Muppet Detector: Okay, great to know I'm arguing with someone evidently incapable of comprehending this topic. I'll try to keep it short as a result.
        
        Yes, different cattle producers do different things. What a blindingly obvious statement. My point is they're not going to increase costs by having two entirely different operations, one for local and one for export. And yet the cited beef in the news article image (not the only example) is from a Vic company that sells the same stuff local - but at a higher price here.
        
        Japanese standards exist, and they are no less stringent than ours. This is a stupid line of reasoning.
        
        If economy of scale at any point brought down the costs that much, there'd be only one or two producers in Australia. The idea that any producer would spend $20 ea for the first hundred heads and the second hundred $6-7 (lmao imagine thinking anyone can grow a whole damn cow for $6-7!!!), and ESPECIALLY the concept that you'd pass the savings for that second hundred to Japan only but not also locally - is absolutely, shamefully stupid.
        
        Your answer to why Aussie customers wouldn't buy cheaper meat is that they're not buying all of the expensive meat? Do you understand how stu-
        
        What am I saying, of course you think that's a sensible statement. What a laugh.
        
        Cool story, so you actually have very little idea of how export economics work, and have chosen to shove your head in the sand when the reality of 'australia sells products cheaper overseas' is displayed to you. You don't need to pretend to be an expert in bloody Tim tam production in order to wrap your head around the simple reality that it can't possibly be cheaper to produce and ship the same biscuits around the world than sell them locally, and yet prices don't reflect that. The fact you dislike Vegemite and claim you don't even know anyone that eats it speaks untold volumes to boot.
        
        Everything else you said was a bunch of inane waffle not even worth addressing. Bottom line is Japan has a 25% import tariff and it costs a lot of money to ship raw meat overseas, and no amount of circus tier mental acrobatics can justify why our beef costs less overseas than here. We're paying significantly more than we could be and that's just factual at this point. There's no point arguing further.
        
        CalmLemons on 09/08/2025 - 21:54
        
        @Muppet Detector: ^This guy has pretty much said it.
        
        In a nutshell, australia exports the best products we make overseas beause they pay x3-x4 more for it.
        
        Muppet Detector on 10/08/2025 - 02:46
        
        -3
        
        @CalmLemons: Sure, we can go with that. Australia exports the best O/S because they pay x3 - x4 more for it.
        
        But right at this moment, I've got Diamantina Wagyu Rib Fillet MB 6-7 on sale for $159.99 kg (usually $180+ kg).
        
        How about a $760 Black Onyx MB3+ ($104.99 atm as its last one left)
        
        15 others varieties in stock starting from $44.99 kg AMG Grass Fed Rib Fillet.
        
        How many kg would you like to buy?
        
        tenpercent on 10/08/2025 - 10:53
        
        +1
        
        @CalmLemons: If that is true, why can I get it cheaper over there when I'm on holidays then I can back at home (keeping in mind you're alleging we only get the not best stuff here)?
        
        Grazz989 on 10/08/2025 - 11:43
        
        @CalmLemons: Yawn. Literally linked two articles that prove that's bullshit - that in fact they pay less - and you just spout nonsense about them paying 3-4x more anyway.
        
        No wonder they're taking us for a ride when the local customers think like you do.
        
        lonewolf on 08/08/2025 - 16:08
        
        +4
        
        @linkii: The government doesnt always charge a levy. 50% of gas is given away for free… Its a rort. Interestingly the politicians who make these "deals" seem to end up eventually working for those companies as consultants with massive salaries down the line.. Imagine that.
        
        wtfisgoingon on 09/08/2025 - 11:15
        
        -2
        
        @lonewolf: The gas isn't "given away for free". The gas is useless until it's taken out of the ground, and the government isn't in the business of gas extraction. Sometimes the government will recognise that a gas field is a complex extraction exercise and reduce duties because some gas is better than none.
        
        tenpercent on 09/08/2025 - 11:17
        
        +3
        
        @wtfisgoingon:
        
        and the government isn't in the business of gas extraction
        
        Maybe they should be
        
        wtfisgoingon on 10/08/2025 - 21:12
        
        -1
        
        @tenpercent: Yeah government run businesses are always super profitable. They're known for it.
        
        lonewolf on 11/08/2025 - 11:08
        
        +1
        
        @wtfisgoingon: Government run businesses dont rip off the public like private run ones do, so at the very least we would get cheaper gas and cheaper energy.
        
        wtfisgoingon on 12/08/2025 - 13:33
        
        -1
        
        @lonewolf: This demonstrates astounding ignorance. The government have repeatedly shown themselves to be wildly inefficient at running businesses. They do rip the public off, just via taxes.
        
        lonewolf on 12/08/2025 - 17:12
        
        +1
        
        @wtfisgoingon: ahh one of those who cant comprehend what is written but rather just spout out their own narrative. Those brainwashed can never actually discuss or change their viewpoints on anything. So really a pointless conversing with them.
        
        lonewolf on 11/08/2025 - 11:07
        
        +1
        
        @wtfisgoingon: Maybe you should go look at other countries that export similar amounts of gas and how much money they make out of it and what they do. Or go live in countries where they use the natural resources to pay for the countries needs and have no tax at all. i used to live in one of them, and its surprising that their government does this and our government gives it away for free. And then surprisingly the politicians who make these deals end up working for those companies after they retire from politics.
        
        Australia has so much natural resources and we have just given it away for individuals to become billionaires and for companies to just sell it cheaper overseas than what we end up paying for it.
        
        wtfisgoingon on 12/08/2025 - 17:45
        
        @lonewolf: Lol at your two comments. I thought I was brainwashed and not worth conversing with?
        
        FWIW I am 100% in favour of increasing our resource taxes. I would just do it via a superprofit tax. Like the one that caused Australians to throw out the Rudd government. But obviously it's the politician's fault when the people vote them out for daring to propose such a tax.
        
        But also, those governments still don't actually run the businesses pulling the gas out of the ground. They let them run privately and then tax them. Which is what I would support.
        
        We probably actually have a lot of common ground. We both think they should pay more, but would use different mechanisms to get there.
        
        Dreamcast on 09/08/2025 - 06:35
        
        +3
        
        @EightImmortals: It's almost like Australians are too afraid to speak up or protest against any party in charge
        
        EightImmortals on 09/08/2025 - 13:16
        
        +2
        
        @Dreamcast: Or even, at the very least, vote differently!
        
        lonewolf on 11/08/2025 - 11:10
        
        +2
        
        @EightImmortals: you want to find the people who wont vote differently, look at some of the comments being made to justify australians to get ripped off. thats the reason why we are in this predicament.
      - inertia8 on 08/08/2025 - 14:49
        
        +1
        
        @7ekn00: Gas… Coal…?
      - Muppet Detector on 08/08/2025 - 15:20
        
        -1
        
        @7ekn00:
        
        and beef
        
        Again, are you sure about that?
        
        May I ask if you could direct me to some type of credible source that supports this?
        
        7ekn00 on 08/08/2025 - 15:59
        
        +5
        
        @Muppet Detector: https://www.beefcentral.com/trade/australia-exports-record-1…
        https://www.beefcentral.com/trade/australian-beef-exports-to…
        
        Indonesia:
        $564million divided by 70,000 tonnes = $8.1 per kg
        
        Rest of World
        $11.3billion divided by 1,082,405 tonnes = $10.95 per kg
        
        Cheapest I can get whole beef for is $14 per kg dressed weight direct from farm :/
        
        Muppet Detector on 08/08/2025 - 16:47
        
        +7
        
        @7ekn00: Whilst your overview could seem quite startling to the general public, the reality is, it amounts to no more than clickbait stirring up outrage over inaccuracy and misrepresentation.
        
        Your snap shot doesn't clarify the type of meat products that were bought (Indonesia for example, cheapest cuts including significant amounts of offal, much of what Australian markets don't want to buy at **any* price.
        
        There are no parameters for whether the product was fresh, frozen, cryovac or live.
        
        Not even consideration given for whether the price was for entire beasts or specific cuts or produced in particular ways for the receiving market.
        
        Your representations are either incomplete or disingenuous.
        
        The price of red meat in various markets (both domestic and international) is about a lot more than how much Bob pays when he rocks up to the local farmer to buy a single beast.
        
        LOL, the Indonesians bought what you didn't want when you purchased your beef at dressed weight. No wonder they paid less for it than you did.
        
        7ekn00 on 08/08/2025 - 17:25
        
        +1
        
        @Muppet Detector:
        
        LOL, the Indonesians bought what you didn't want when you purchased your beef at dressed weight
        
        Newsflash, I seek the offal ;) Love eating nose to tail (grass fed beef liver is sweet due to the glycogen not destroyed by grain feeding!) :P
        
        It's one of the reasons I order whole cows!
        
        Most exports would be live cattle at that price ;) And yeah, mine does come butchered - so I guess I am paying for that too
        
        Muppet Detector on 08/08/2025 - 17:44
        
        +1
        
        @7ekn00: There's even differences between the breed of cattle and their achievable yield and cost of production before you drill down further into other comparable metrics.
        
        Other factors affecting international prices compared to our domestic prices are the standards and qualities that each country requires.
        
        wtfisgoingon on 08/08/2025 - 17:33
        
        +3
        
        @Muppet Detector: Just want to say I appreciate you trying to cut through the knee jerk cynical nonsense you see so often on here. It's a tough battle, but you're 100% correct. I guess you'll have to settle for that, because these days nobody on the internet is actually interested in facts
        
        Muppet Detector on 08/08/2025 - 17:45
        
        @wtfisgoingon: Thank you, cheers.
  - Muppet Detector on 08/08/2025 - 15:18
    
    -1
    
    Similar happens with Austrailian lamb.
    
    Does it?
    
    I was of the understanding that a specific amount of Australian lamb must be produced for the Australian market before any quantities are able to be made available for export contracts.
- belongsinforums on 08/08/2025 - 16:38
  
  -7
  
  wow ozbargainers really lap up the MAGA rhetoric
sharkyoz on 07/08/2025 - 21:57 Comment score below threshold.
- Daabido on 08/08/2025 - 15:09
  
  +6
  
  Better get that checked out.
  - RiseAndRuin on 09/08/2025 - 12:10
    
    That's too expensive as well…
- tenpercent on 08/08/2025 - 18:50
  
  Thanks for the update, Nero.
- jv on 08/08/2025 - 21:01
  
  while i play a tiny violin
  
  You like to fiddle ?
randomusername2017 on 07/08/2025 - 22:35

+19

Such a shame the supermarket is the only place you can buy fresh fish 🤔
- skillet on 08/08/2025 - 12:13
  
  -4
  
  It isnt even fresh, its usually dipped in preservatives
  - belongsinforums on 08/08/2025 - 16:39
    
    which ones?
- kzrocky on 09/08/2025 - 20:22
  
  -1
  
  Its not the only place I buy fish (I very rarely buy fish from the supermarket)
Benoffie on 07/08/2025 - 22:38

+3

It's free market. That's the excuse. Why sell to us for cheap when a foreign market will pay 10x the price.

If we want it, we have to also pay the same or get the dreggs. Government policies and industry lobbyists 👍
- CaptainJack on 08/08/2025 - 09:35
  
  +4
  
  Pretty sure most people wouldn't want to work for half price cos the government told them its good for everyone else.
kanad on 07/08/2025 - 22:44

+8

It all gets exported to Japan and HK, I heard.

But to answer your question, go to a proper seafood shop, if you want variety, every major city have a few still ticking.
Muppet Detector on 07/08/2025 - 23:38

+1

You obviously missed the tinned tuna aisle.

I must say, I am curious about how fresh the fresh fish is that is available at supermarkets.
- DashCam AKA Rolts on 08/08/2025 - 00:19
  
  +16
  
  Freshly thawed.
Hybroid on 08/08/2025 - 00:25

+1

Seven Seas Fresh Seafood in Gregory Hills has a huge selection of seafood I have never seen before.
- theHMASfriendship on 08/08/2025 - 06:35
  
  +2
  
  I think I went to school with Gregory Hills, how is old Greg
- turk182 on 08/08/2025 - 19:05
  
  Did they recently change owners? Doesnt seem the same since they added the donuts
  - buckster on 09/08/2025 - 08:44
    
    +1
    
    What type of fish is that?
clover on 08/08/2025 - 01:19

+6

Well don’t buy seafood in supermarkets
Some Human on 08/08/2025 - 03:54

+3

Have you considered buying a fishing rod?
- Muppet Detector on 08/08/2025 - 15:46
  
  -3
  
  I don't think there are many fishing holes in Central Australia.
  
  Australia may be surrounded by water and host to innumerable inland lakes, rivers and tributaries etc, but there are still a fair few Australians who don't live very close to a water source (unless you include swimming pools, I suppose?)
  - Some Human on 08/08/2025 - 17:05
    
    +2
    
    OP lives in melbourne - The city by the bay.
    - Muppet Detector on 08/08/2025 - 17:12
      
      Well in that case, I'm positive that there'd be a fresh fish market and trawler market access there.
      
      Basically restaurant capital of Australia. They're not buying their fish from Coles.
      - Some Human on 08/08/2025 - 18:17
        
        @Muppet Detector: Probably. I don't actually wat fish much myself.
        
        Why are you getting negged???
- kzrocky on 09/08/2025 - 20:24
  
  +1
  
  I have a boat and Im a fisherman. The point is, all the fish we have in Aussie waters is mostly exported and we cant get it for a decent price.
  - Pumpkin_rrr on 10/08/2025 - 10:46
    
    I read this often that our precious fish is exported.
    But when I was overseas, I find their seafood is cheaper and aplenty.
ForkSnorter on 08/08/2025 - 07:30

+17

Your post is 20 years too late. It’s been this way for decades.

As long as I can remember, the only consistently cheap fish in Australian supermarkets has been defrosted basa, a type of catfish from Vietnam.

Honestly, it barely qualifies as fish. It usually tastes like processed flour and has the rubbery texture of overcooked porridge.

How is it cheaper to farm fish 7,000 km away in a much smaller country, freeze it, package it, ship it here, keep it frozen, then defrost it again and still sell it for less than anything local?

All while we’re an island nation surrounded by some of the cleanest waters on the planet?

I guess this is just capitalism doing what it does best.

If you walk into a Japanese supermarket, you’ll see all kinds of beautiful fish — often cut into perfect single-portion fillets for grilling or simmering. From what I’ve seen, prices can be half of what we pay in Australia, although it depends on the type of fish.

That’s partly because fish is a dietary staple there, and also because wages are significantly lower. If fish prices rose too much, there’d be riots. Just recently, rice prices spiked in Japan and the whole country lost its mind. It's been front-page news for 6 months. They’ve even appointed a “rice price” minister. He’s on TV more than the Prime Minister.

You'd think in a country that has a much higher demand for fish, prices would be higher, but they do have an incredibly vast and efficient fishing industry, well-managed and extensive fisheries, and very advanced aquaculture (fish farming).

Also, the Japanese government subsidizes fish. Not fish prices directly, but the fishing industry. It massively invests in and subsidizes the industry in all kinds of ways that would help prices stay low.

On the other hand, having high fish prices might be good for some people in the long term because certain types of fish do contain a lot of microplastics and mercury.
- cuteseal on 08/08/2025 - 14:30
  
  +3
  
  The basa is pretty vile. It pretty much disintegrates into mush with the slightest bit of cooking.
- pennypincha on 09/08/2025 - 07:14
  
  -2
  
  One whale feeds a whole lotta Japanese people too…
DarkOz on 08/08/2025 - 07:31

Expecting supermarkets to sell different types of fish and at a decent price is laughable.
- kzrocky on 09/08/2025 - 20:25
  
  -2
  
  Many years ago, you could get decent fish from the supermarkets. These days you cannot.
Benno007 on 08/08/2025 - 08:06

+2

Go fish yourself then?
- montorola on 08/08/2025 - 09:55
  
  Sounds like a new-age insult
  - Benno007 on 10/08/2025 - 09:06
    
    Depends where you live I guess. I live near the ocean and see 20+ people fishing on my evening walks
    
    Actually reminds me of the 100 ‘go float yourself’ lol
subydooby on 08/08/2025 - 08:09

Chicken is a type of fish…

Aussie Fish Is Too Expensive

Comments

New Forum Topics