WAMMCO Chief Executive Des Griffiths has warned producers the processing industry would be unable to handle the current numbers shipped live if the live sheep export trade was shut down.
He was responding to a question from former WAMMCO director Mike Norton on the Cooperative’s policy on the live sheep export trade at the recent annual meeting of members at Katanning.
“Despite claims that we should be exporting processed sheepmeats instead of sending animals live on boats, the reality is that there is no longer the processing capacity in WA to handle the large number of sheep now going for live export,” Des said.
“It would probably take between one and two years to bring the processing industry up to the stage where it could handle these extra numbers, - if you were able to find someone prepared to invest the money.
Des said the industry was also suffering serious labour shortages and individual processors like WAMMCO were now highly specialised in processing value added lamb and other products.
“WAMMCO takes the view that the live sheep export trade helps producers to maintain the sheep/wool/meat mix and that it is essential to everyone that it remains.”
Wayne Radford, will retire at the end of 2022 after a 56 year career in the industry. Wayne left John Curtin High School at Fremantle to join the skins team at Wesfarmers ...
Read moreMedia Release 28/07/2022 Western Australia’s largest sheep and lamb processing cooperative will return a record $8.4 million in pool bonuses to its producer members at the end of August 2022. The 2021/22 ...
Read moreMedia Release 14/07/22 Des Griffiths, an early CEO of the WA Meat Marketing Cooperative, credited with helping WA lamb producers to reshape an influential global lamb processing and marketing cooperative, passed ...
Read moreMedia Release (20-06-2022) Recently appointed Livestock Manager for WAMMCO, Mike Curnick is looking forward to capping his 37-year career in WA’s livestock sector in the lamb and ...
Read moreA distinguished career in the meat processing and livestock industry will end with the retirement of the WA Meat Marketing Cooperative’s Livestock Manager Peter Krupa on June 30. Mr ...
Read more