• What are some of the main food products (“foods”) that your country produces?
Thanks for asking the question. Australia depends mostly on agriculture and as a result, the cultivation of agricultural products is more here. The country mostly grows wheat, oat, barley, maize, canola, sorghum, field pea, lentil, Lupin, sunflower seed etc. more than the other products. Besides, some other animal food industries have bloomed here greatly. Among them, the most notable are beef industry, lamb industry and pork industry. Beef is considered as one of the main food products after wheat. Fisheries should also be noted here for their substantial presence on the list. Dairy products are also mentionable in this case as the number of dairy farms is not trivial. Most of the agricultural products are grown on vast tracts of lands and at the same time the animal industries are located out of the cities. There are no irrigation facilities available in the city areas and the city environment is not suitable for the crops.
• What are some food products that come from different parts of your country?
Usually, the animal foods come from different parts of the country in line with some of the agro-foods. The dairy farms and animal foods industries are located in different parts of the country and the foods are sent to the cities after having a perfect process. People mostly take the animal foods from the superstores of stores and they collect them from their respective sources. Besides, the wheat, barley and oat also come from different parts. There are no central systems to grow the products in the city. New South Wales produces the largest part of the wheat production in the country while Tasmania produces the lowest part of the oat. The cattle production is one of the most important sources for the beef industry and cattle is raised in different parts of Australia.
• What widely consumed food products are mainly imported into your country?
Well, Australia is not a self-sufficient country in foods and thus requires importing foods from the other countries and world market. The most notable foods it imports include fruits, processed fruits, seafood, different types of vegetables etc. Though the vegetable production amount is notable, it needs to be imported for the huge consumption level. Vegetables are dominant in many of the Australian homes in line with the non-vegetable elements. Interestingly, Australia grows almost all types of agricultural products but it needs to import some specific products like processed fruits. Though the processed fruits are widely consumed by the citizens, there is no fruit processing industry in the state and thus the imports have turned into a profitable business for some of the Australians.
• Do you think it’s important that a country is self-sufficient in food?
Umm! I think it is impossible for a country to be self-sufficient in food production. But it is important to be because when a country starts importing foods from the other countries, the prices of the imported goods get a hike naturally. Then it becomes impossible for the ordinary citizens to get the foods. Only for geographical disadvantages, a country becomes infertile or unable to grow all sorts of agricultural products. The country deprived of the food products may replace the lacking with import and thereby, I do not think that it is important for a country to be self-sufficient in food production.
• Besides food and the product you mentioned earlier, what else is made in your country?
Well, Australia is a country which produces more other products. The most notable elements are wool, sugar cane, poultry, nuts, cereal etc. A large portion of the wool comes from the lamb industry. Poultry farms help meeting the poultry needs of the country. Fruit like apple is another important source of agriculture. Vast tracts of lands are used for apple production. But sometimes the productions are hampered by some specific disorders like droughts and deforestation. But in the recent years, there are no such disorders found. Australia exports its dairy products in the world and is considered as one of the influential entities in producing dairy and agricultural products.
• Do you think the globalisation of industry and commerce is a good thing?
My view on the issue may be different. I actually do not believe that the globalisation of industry and commerce is good for the countries. There are few reasons behind my belief. Firstly, when an industry is transferred to the other countries for globalisation, it actually loses its uniqueness. Besides, the quality of the produced also gets down. For instance, you are skilled in making sculptures and you have an industry in your own country. I am unskilled about the making or process and if I am to replace you suddenly, the results will be worst for my being novice. The issue about the industry is the same. When a traditional industry is shifted to another country or culture, it is a bit difficult for that industry to survive. So, it appears to me that the idea of globalisation, especially in the commerce and industrialisation, is not good to some extent.
• Do you think every country should make everything it needs or should it import some things?
Um! This is a very technical question to answer. It actually differs in certain cases. As I said earlier that it is impossible for a country to be self-sufficient, it is possible for the country to be moderately able enough to support the needs of the country. Definitely, it is impossible for a country to be self-reliant from every aspect but it could produce the necessary things it needs in a sufficient quantity and sometimes it could also sell the excessive produces to meet its own needs. When the unused parts of the productions will be exported, it is expected that the costs for import could be adjusted to some level.
• What are the disadvantages of a country producing everything it needs?
This is true that a country is unable to produce all the things it needs but if it is done in some cases, there would be some negative impacts on the overall economy, I think. When a country will be self-reliant, it will not need any more to import anything from the world market and as a result, the relationships with the other countries will be reduced. Besides, the products inside the country will be cheaper and smuggling of different products which are not produced at all in the country may rise to some larger extents. The currency rate may also fail which will lead to an economic disorder in the country.
