December 13, 2010

Turkey becomes new market for Australian livestock industry

Following new protocols being recently enacted, the Australian livestock export industry has a new market for cattle and sheep in Turkey.

While breeding cattle have been allowed into the market for some time, October was the first month that cattle (28,093 head) and sheep (137,285 head) for meat consumption were exported from Australia to Turkey.

The Turkish market traditionally purchases live cattle from South America, but due to supply issues, Australia was investigated as an alternative source. There is a preference for European breeds of cattle, and a blue tongue clause applied to the protocol restricts supply to cattle raised in southern regions.