Side-by-side: Northern Australian wild & farmed barramundi against barramundi imported from Thailand and Vietnam.
How Barramundi compares to imported equivalents on key nutrients.
Imported barramundi from Thailand and Vietnam is typically 30–50% cheaper at retail because of lower wages, scale, and government export subsidies in source countries. The Australian price reflects local labour, biosecurity, feed and freight costs.
kg CO₂e per kg edible product (cradle-to-retail)
Imported product is mostly air-freighted and has higher feed-conversion impacts.
Source: ICCT air-freight emissions
Australian FTE jobs supported per tonne sold
Includes farm, hatchery, feed, processing and freight.
Source: FRDC economic contribution
days from harvest to retail
Australian product is generally fresh; most imported barramundi arrives frozen.
Methodology: Carbon, freshness and jobs values are sector-level estimates. See cited sources for ranges; actual values vary by farm and route.
Australia: Veterinary Health Plans, low stocking density, ASC and BAP certified farms
Imported: Variable; mangrove clearing and disease pressure documented in some source regions
Australia: Low — Australian Fish Names Standard mandatory
Imported: Moderate — DNA studies show 11–34% mislabelling at retail/foodservice
Australia: Producer-to-plate; mandatory CoOL labelling
Imported: Limited; reliant on importer declarations
Australian barramundi is more expensive but cleaner, fresher, lower-carbon and supports local jobs. Imported product is the cheaper option but rarely traceable to farm.