A win for Aussie tomato growers, but is it a win for consumers?

SPC Ardmona has won a David-Goliath battle against Italian tomato importers, meaning there’ll be more Aussie product on our shelves, but is it truly a win for consumers?

Some might argue that yes, it is a win because we’ll be helping out our Australian farmers and buying local, while others believe that the well-priced Italian tomatoes should stay on our shelves.

However one thing consumers might not know is that Italian imported tomatoes are being sold in Australia below the price they are sold in their country of origin – this is called dumping, and it’s illegal.

SPC Ardmona has successfully won a David and Goliath battle against the Italian importers after the Anti-Dumping Commission were found guilty of the practise.

Australian manufacturer SPC Ardmona has been fighting against the Italian importers’ dumping since 2013.

In a previous case, ABC reports 103 of the 105 Italian tomato exporters were found to be dumping product in Australia.

Feger and La Doria, who had escaped action until now, account for at least 40 per cent of the Italian tinned tomatoes exported to Australia. The Anti-Dumping Commission has now ruled that these exporters too have been dumping product in Australia.

“The other side have had a bunch of highly paid lawyers and solicitors working on their behalf, and we’ve had one individual staff member”.

SPC will now be able to compete with Italian produce, however prices are expected to go up of the Italian imported tomatoes we are used to buying for around $1.

So we want to know this morning: Do you prefer Aussie made or do you prefer whatever’s cheapest?