Keep the Sheep: Industry pushes back on live ban

Producers and industry stakeholders in Western Australia and beyond continue to fight against the ban, with a online social campaign urging Australia to "Keep the Sheep" by not driving producers out of the industry.

Sheep Producers Australia CEO Bonnie Skinner said learnings from the 2011 live cattle export snap ban illustrate that producers would need large amounts of time to prepare, respond and recover from a policy that would destroy their business.

"This is clearly not a four-year process, but at the very least, a decadal process that allows genuine consideration of issues relevant to this policy like analysis of competition forces, economic impacts, community sentiment, business cycles, market development (export and domestic), sheep genetic cycles, all of which will be further impacted by climatic events out of the control of producers," she said.

"Consultation on the implementation of this policy was rushed and left many producers feeling removed from a process that will impact their families, businesses and communities.

"The government's response to the panel's recommendations and the overall transition package reflects an ongoing lack of understanding of the immense complexity surrounding this issue.

"Time is a critical factor, as once short-term adjustment mechanisms cease post-implementation the industry will have to rely on the market forces that remain.

"Given time markets can and do adapt, but rapid intervention can cause shocks and farmers fear the long-term damage that can come from this.

"The critical question that has not been answered is how to provide producers with the same level of farmgate competition that they currently have to ensure the industry remains viable into the future."

Meanwhile there have been reports that Qatar Airways has submitted a new application to increase its flights into Australia, after the federal government rejected its initial request for 28 extra flights a week last year.

Ms Skinner said the government failed to appreciate last year just how much the export industry relies on cargo hold space in passenger planes to transport premium chilled meat to the Middle East.

"As an industry, we've been trying to explain this complexity to the government for quite some time, and we're obviously not getting the message through if the government doesn't understand the dynamics around those flights and have the will to assist producers," she said.

"With live export we can put 60,000 sheep on a boat.

"Once we go into the chilled market, we need to then send lots of small regular amounts.

"In WA, it's taken a lot longer for passenger freight numbers to rebound (post COVID) and that's meant that has also affected our competitiveness in air freight for our export product as well."

Analysis from Episode 3 highlights that much of the decline in Australian sheep meat export air freight volumes throughout the Covid period was due to a reduction in traffic to the MENA region.

From 2019 to 2022 annual air freight volumes of sheep meat to the MENA region from Australia declined by 71.2pc, while sheep meat export air freight to all destinations other than the MENA region grew by 78.5pc from 2019 to 2022.

Episode 3 market analyst Matt Dalgleish said increased air passenger traffic is needed to build capacity to ship increased airfreight and last year's decision to deny Qatar Airways' bid for more flights was short-sighted.

"The air freight avenue to send "bag lamb" carcass to the MENA region via passenger flights is a part of the solution to offer alternative market destinations to WA farmers, particularly if live sheep is to be phased out," he said.

Meanwhile Australian Livestock Exporters Council CEO has said that Australian live exporters will continue to operate uninterrupted over the next four years and into the future.

"Currently we are facing unprecedented demand from our long-term trading partners in the Middle East, contrary to what Minister Watt is saying about the decline in the live sheep trade," he said.

"They value the quality of Australian sheep and the role we can play in delivering their food security."

"Our trading partners have been left extremely dismayed by this diplomatic affront from the Australian Government but have made it very clear they will continue to seek Australian sheep well into the future."

Mr Harvey-Sutton said WA farmers needed to know the live sheep trade would continue to be a market option over the next few years.

"We fully expect that the Albanese Government is hoping that the industry will dwindle in light of announcing this misguided ban," he said.

"However, we are making it very clear that we are not going anywhere, and that we will do everything in our power to fight this deeply unjust ban."

"WA farmers need to know we have their backs."