Imports hurt Donald factory

By Trent Horneman, Wimmera Mail-Times
Updated November 7 2012 - 6:53am, first published January 19 2012 - 11:21am
under threat: Kooka’s Country Cookies staff, front from left, Debbie Romeo, Dwain Dempsey and Barb Fox; back, Travis Hickmott, Fay Moloney, Glenda House, Bernie Abbott and Stephen Blake.Picture: Paul Carracher
under threat: Kooka’s Country Cookies staff, front from left, Debbie Romeo, Dwain Dempsey and Barb Fox; back, Travis Hickmott, Fay Moloney, Glenda House, Bernie Abbott and Stephen Blake.Picture: Paul Carracher

Donald is at risk of losing a $2.5-million-a-year manufacturer.Kooka’s Country Cookies’ manager Graeme Harris said his business was under threat after years of dwindling sales.Mr Harris said cheaper imports were making it harder for Australian manufacturers to compete.He has called on consumers to show their support for Australian brands.“We are right on the edge. This has been a gradual decline for years, but it has escalated of late,” he said.Mr Harris said Kooka’s had almost halved its production in recent years, from $4.5 million a year to $2.5 million a year. The downturn had reduced the biscuit maker’s staff from 25 to 12.He said sister company Australian Eatwell, which moved from Moorabbin to Donald 10 years ago, was also feeling the pinch.Mr Harris said he was concerned for the future of Australia’s food manufacturers, following the demise of the Heinz factory at Girgarre and Clyne Foods at Warracknabeal in the past 12 months.“There is a massive flow-on, not just for the subsidiary businesses who deal with us, but also the farmers who supply the ingredients,” he said. “Grain growers generally do not sell straight to the public, they need the processors and the manufacturers in order to survive.”Mr Harris said retail sales were about 80 per cent of his business and were critical to the business’s future.“We need the support of the big supermarkets. They buy a lot of product and they are prompt payers. Like Dick Smith has been saying, it is up to us to buy Australian,” he said.“It is vital for Donald that Kooka’s stays open. We use as much local produce as we can in our products. We also use local tradespeople, cleaners and transporters.“Consumers and retailers have pressured the government into allowing these cheaRp overseas imports. They should be stopping it, because not only do they send taxes overseas, they will lose taxes when companies like ours go under.”Buloke Shire Mayor David Pollard said his ratepayers needed to support companies such as Kooka’s.“For Donald to lose Kooka’s would be like Geelong losing Ford,” he said.“It is massive, we need to do everything we can to support them.”

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