Summary

An economic analysis of the value of the live export sheep sector provides useful knowledge and materials in assisting industry to openly demonstrate the economic benefits of the trade, ensuring stakeholders are equipped to discuss and communicate the benefit of the trade.

This phase of the project used desktop analysis and surveys to provide factual information about the live sheep export industry’s contribution to the Australian economy and identify the level of reliance on the trade for sheep producers and other participants across the supply chain.

The results show that producers keep almost half the value of the industry, which was worth $220 million a year on average between 2014 and 2018, and employs approximately 3,443 people nationally.

Objective

This project aimed to create a series of reports to:

• Identify the economic benefit that flows from the live sheep export trade to farmers and other businesses in Australia (this report)

• Provide an economic analysis of the industry’s self-imposed three-month moratorium on exporting sheep to the Middle East in the northern hemisphere summer (report here)

• Provide an analysis of farm-level decisions which influence the size of the sheep flock nationally and in Western Australia (report here).

Key findings (phase 1)

• More than 82% of live sheep exported from Australia during 2014-18 departed from the port of Fremantle, Western Australia. Adelaide was the other major port, accounting for 15% of exports.

• Per state, the live export trade accounts for annual sheep and lamb turnoff at a rate of:

  • 30% in Western Australia

  • 5% in South Australia

  • 0.3% in Victoria

  • 0.01% across New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania.

• As well as providing another market to sell their sheep, Western Australian producers use access to the live export trade to reduce their sheep numbers in times of drought, allowing them to better manage feed availability.

Benefits to industry

Conducting this analysis of the value of the Australian live sheep export trade to participants in the supply chain and regional communities has provided factual information that can be used to support discussion and ensure a balanced and informed debate regarding the industry.