August 4, 2011

 

Australian cattle ban to cost Wyndham port US$600,000

 

 

The operator of Australia's Wyndham Port has forecast it will lose US$600,000 in revenue because of the ban on live cattle exports to Indonesia.

 

In a submission to the independent inquiry into Australia's live export trade, Cambridge Gulf chief executive Tony Chafer said the port was "fortunate" to be able to ship 7,500 cattle in their export yards to Indonesia a few days before the ban was announced in early June but would still suffer heavy losses.

 

Almost 500 cattle producers, port operators, agribusiness managers and community members from all levels of the live export supply chain across northern Australia have seized the opportunity to have their say as part of the inquiry headed by former senior diplomat Bill Farmer.

 

In his submission, Broome Chamber of Commerce president Anthony Proctor wrote that many businesses in the Kimberley did not have time to make submissions as they were "totally dedicated to the recovery and maintenance of their businesses".

 

He said proponents of a total ban on live cattle exports and the establishment of domestic abattoirs did not understand the fundamentals of the industry. "It is submitted that not one commercial bank in Australia would fund the establishment of a new export abattoir in Australia," he said.

 

R.B. Dessert Seed Company, which supplies seed to Kimberley cattle stations to grow and produce their own feed, said the uncertainty of the industry had already cost the company sales.

 

Pilbara pastoralist and 2008 Nuffield Scholar Annabelle Coppin included a detailed report on Australia's livestock trade she wrote for Nuffield Australia Farming Scholars in 2009.

 

The report outlined the international farming communities she was able to visit as part of her scholarship and the knowledge it gave her in understanding Australia's role in the global food supply chain.

 

She wrote that the most important finding was that "despite expanding global economies and urbanisation, there will always be international demand for Australian live animals".

 

She said her family provided, on average, more than two million beef meals a year.

 

"I'm proud of this and am sure most people would be. I have also discovered some would be disgusted by this achievement," she wrote.

 

Farmer will provide a final report to the Federal Government by August 31. Elders announced last month that it had been granted export permits by the Federal Government and would be ready to send the first shipment of 3,000 cattle in the second week of August.

 

Later this month, rallies around Australia have been timed to lobby MPs and the wider community before a Bill to ban live exports by independents Nick Xenophon and Andrew Wilkie is put to a vote on August 18.

 

The Perth leg of the RSPCA and Animals Australia stop live exports rally will be in Fremantle on August 14.

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