High Australian dollar hits Western Australia's pork exports

Western Australia's pork producers have lost a quarter of their export market, thanks to the high Australian dollar.

About one third of Western Australian pork is sent to the fresh market in Singapore, but the rising currency has made the product much more expensive.

As a result, Singapore's importers have turned to frozen pork from the US, Canada and Brazil to meet the demand.

Western Australian producers cannot compete against frozen pork as it meant a 25-percent slash in price, said Ron Penn from Craig Mostyn Group, an export company.

Penn said it is impossible to pass that reduction on have Western Australian farms and farmers remain sustainable.