Western Australian sheep farmers are heavily reliant on the live sheep export trade with over 82% of the national trade volume exiting the port of Fremantle over the last five years. Within Western Australia, the live sheep trade represents nearly 30% of their annual sheep and lamb turnoff. As well as providing a selling alternative for surplus sheep, the access to live export becomes critical for Western Australian farmers when the season deteriorates.
Mecardo was engaged by LiveCorp and Meat & Livestock Australia, to undertake an analysis of the Australian live sheep export trade. The objective of this project was to determine the value of the industry to regional zones across the country.
This report is the first of a three-stage project which will deliver the following:
- Identify and outline the economic benefit that flows from the live sheep export trade to participants in the Australian supply chain.
- An economic analysis of the industry’s self-imposed three-month moratorium and the regulatory changes introduced in 2019.
- An analysis of a range of farm level decision-making options (domestic fundamentals) influencing national sheep flock numbers, with a primary focus on Western Australia.