Refusal to grant sheep shipment to Middle East after Al Kuwait crew test positive for coronavirus angers WA’s biggest customer, risks future trade

WA farmers and a major live exporter say a decision by the Federal Government to refuse an application to ship sheep to the Middle East is “insulting” to the customer and puts Australia at risk of losing its biggest trading partner for sheep. The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment announced late last night it would not grant Rural Export and Trading WA an exemption to export livestock after June 1, when the northern hemisphere summer shipping ban came into effect. The livestock vessel Al Kuwait was unable to depart before the cut-off date as planned after several crew members were diagnosed with COVID-19. RETWA managing director Mike Gordon said the independent regulator’s decision would have significant commercial and trade ramifications. The company ships sheep on behalf of Kuwait Livestock Transport and Trading, WA’s biggest customer for live sheep, supplying Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman. “Our long-term trading partners that have invested in Australia are not going to continue to take the insults by our regulator, and are investing elsewhere,” Mr Gordon said. Pastoralists and Graziers Association president Tony Seabrook said countries in the Middle East were relying heavily on the consignment at a time when they faced serious food security risks because a coronavirus-driven reduction in air travel has reduced access to chilled and frozen meat. “KLTT are beyond anger — this is a major insult. They are white-hot furious. These little bureaucrats in Canberra have no idea what this will cost the country,” Mr Seabrook said. “There will be repercussions. I’ve been told that is very likely to happen. “Our trading partners have already indicated that as a result of this refusal by the Federal Government to grant the exemption, that they will begin to source sheep from alternative markets, rather than from WA. “It is not only sheep that will be affected. We were looking at the Middle East as a new market for barley after losing China, but why would these countries trust Australia as a supplier of anything now?” WA Farmers livestock section president David Slade said the regulator’s decision was unacceptable and meant the customer would look elsewhere. “How many times can we play with a nation’s food security, and one that we have had the loyalty of for many years? It’s a total disgrace – our producers will feel this and so too will the Middle East,” Mr Slade said. Short term, farmers are also bracing for severely depressed sheep prices as the regulator’s decision means the 56,000 sheep now at a Baldivis feedlot — which were set to sail on the Al Kuwait — will instead enter the local market. Mr Seabrook said putting big volumes of sheep into local abattoirs would flood the market and depress prices, hurting all livestock farmers. The sheep are worth about $8 million at the farm gate. Mr Gordon said having gone through the process with the department, he could not envisage an application for an exemption of the northern summer order being approved under any circumstance. “In this case, from application to decision took six days. We believe the department’s risk appetite is unrealistic and over cautious,” he said. Although the department said it was not satisfied animal welfare could be protected, Mr Gordon said this was always a top priority for RETWA, and the exemption request had considered all risks carefully to ensure mitigating controls were in place. WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan said it was not the end of the world. “I’m presuming, from what we gather, that there has been the metrological data is showing the weather is now more severe than usual in the Middle East and that a vessel could not be ready here to go until June 10 or 11, and that obviously is well into the moratorium period,” she said. “While some people will be a bit grumpy about this, I’m sure that in the long run it is ensuring that we don’t’ have another disaster that could have catastrophic impact on both the social licence and our export market.” WA Senator Matt O’Sullivan has urged Federal Agriculture David Littleproud to overturn the decision to refuse the exemption. In a letter to Mr Littleproud, Senator O’Sullivan warned the domestic market could be flooded if the sheep were processed locally. “There is nothing precedented about the coronavirus challenge,” he said. “The events which have taken place on the Al Kuwait demonstrate the indirect consequences the virus can have on a state-wide industry and the farmers who rely on it. “If these 56,000 sheep, specially bred for the Middle Eastern Market, are unable to be exported, there is the potential the domestic market could be flooded.” Senator O’Sullivan pointed out “thousands” of jobs relied on the live export sector, and the refusal of exemptions in this case “could have a detrimental impact on the broader Australian sheepmeat industry”. “I strongly encourage you to review and overturn your decision not to provide an exemption in this case,” he said.