19 November 2009

3 minute read

Asia

In his Chairman’s address at the MLA Annual General Meeting in Darwin, Don Heatley said having a base in Indonesia will ensure Australia is in the best position to benefit from opportunities in the market and grow overall demand for beef in the region.

“Last year we sent over 700,000 head of livestock and 38,000 tonnes of chilled beef to Indonesia. It is now our third largest market, offering a range of opportunities for Australia’s cattle industry,” said Mr Heatley.

“They have a population of over 237 million, and a large proportion of consumers demanding freshly processed beef from traditional wet markets - our livestock export industry is well positioned to fulfil this need in their market.”

Mr Heatley said that there is also a growing number of Indonesians shopping in modern supermarkets, creating significant opportunities for Australia’s chilled and frozen beef exports.

“We have an important role to play in working with the local Indonesian cattle industry to educate their consumers on the nutritional benefits of eating beef,” he said.

Mr Heatley also underlined the ability of the Australian red meat and livestock industry to constantly adapt and meet changing customer demands as key to the industry’s future prosperity.

“The future looks bright, but we must keep our sleeves rolled up and strive for even greater diversification – the more markets and segments we have, the greater our potential to achieve the best returns.”

In the Managing Director’s address at the AGM David Palmer announced that the Meat Standards Australia program would grade a record number of cattle in 2009.

“Beef grading numbers increased by nearly 17 per cent and in 2009 have exceeded 1 million head for the first time – equivalent to a third of the domestic market.”

“MSA sheepmeat gained momentum with grading numbers increasing from a base of 7,000 a month during 2007-08 to 13,000 per month this year.”

“Consumer loyalty is crucial – both in our international markets and here at home. On the domestic market, eating quality drives loyalty and the industry delivers this through Meat Standards Australia.”

“The ultimate measure of eating quality comes from the consumer, and according to our research perception of the quality of our beef and lamb are at some of the highest levels recorded.”

Mr Palmer also provided the revenue, income and expenditure of the company, of which the key points included:

• Total revenue was A$163.4 million – an increase of 0.3 per cent or $500,000 on 2007-08.
• Income from producer levies on cattle, sheep and goats totalled $98.1 million. This was a A$4.2 million increase on the previous year
• Total expenditure for 2008-09 was down by 6.5 per cent on 2007-08 to A$146.8 million. This conservative approach to spending helped deliver a surplus of A$16.2 million for the year.

TheCattleSite News Desk