Qatar reportedly moves to end Australian lamb trade

Qatar has reportedly moved to shut down the multi-million dollar lamb trade with Australia in a blow that could hit WA producers hard. The Middle Eastern nation will end a subsidy for Australian lamb imports on December 31, the Australian Financial Review is reporting. The move is believed to be linked to the Federal Government raising concerns over invasive strip searches of Australian women at a Doha airport in October. According to the Department of Agriculture, 97 per cent of Australian sheep exported came from WA. Al-Karim Exports head Karim Nol said the end of the subsidy came without warning. “It is going to affect a lot of producers and abattoirs across Australia, in Tasmania, in Victoria, in WA,” he told the Australian Financial Review.