July 5, 2012

Australia's pork industry to incur extra cost on carbon tax

Australia's pig producers have been incurring thousands of dollars extra a year due to carbon tax, the peak body for the industry said.

Australian Pork Limited and the Australian Farm Institute have completed modelling that shows costs for pig producers will rise by up to US$12,000 a year under the carbon tax.

Manager of environment with APL, Janine Price, says the organisation is working hard to find a way to offset some of these costs.

"We've had a look at, for example, a 4,000-sow piggery and the annual carbon bill for them would be approximately US$9,000, but if they covered their ponds and flared their methane and they got carbon credits, those carbon credits could be worth US$20,000 or US$21,000 to that farm."