Thursday 7 July 2011

Cattle export ban lifted

The Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association has applauded the federal government’s  decision to lift the live cattle trade suspension, but has cautioned that the cash flow crisis facing producers in the Territory may take more than a year to overcome.

The Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association is the peak primary industry group in the Territory and represents more than 90 per cent of the region’s cattle herd.

The NTCA president, Rohan Sullivan, who has just returned from Indonesia as part of a joint NT Government and industry delegation, says the reality is that there is a great deal of work that needs to be done in Indonesia before the trade returns to some kind of normality.

Cattle numbers leaving Darwin for Indonesia will be restricted for some time, which translates to continuing financial stress for producers waiting for cattle sales – and there is no financial quick fix, says the NTCA. Live cattle exports are of critical importance to the northern pastoral industry and the northern Territory economy as a whole.

The pastoral industry is the Northern Territory’s third largest GDP earner, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the Territory’s primary production and generating over A$400 million in direct income – statistics that highlight the the type of problems that would arise with a continued ban.

With more than 220 pastoral leases, the Territory industry manages a landmass in excess of 620,000 square kilometres and a herd of over two million head. In 2010, more than 300,000 cattle were exported live through the Port of Darwin.

Prepared by Bob Woodward & Associates: offering you business consultancy, accounting, payroll administration and ancillary services in Darwin, The Northern Territory, Australia
http://www.woodwards.co/

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