THE Northern Territory live export industry is surging ahead and has smashed industry export records.
In the 2014 calendar year so far, the Port of Darwin has already exported over 392,000 head of cattle. Prior to that, the calendar year record was in 2008 when the Port of Darwin exported 359,307 head of cattle.
Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries, Willem Westra van Holthe, said this achievement was due to the hard work and determination of pastoralists on the land.
“To think only a few years ago, the live export ban brought this industry to its knees and now it is bigger than ever before,” Mr Westra van Holthe said.
“Our Territory pastoralists are a resilient mob. They have been through some tough times and considerable hardship but this achievement is a symbol of their hard work and determination,” he said.
“Due to the diversification of the market, beef prices have risen and exporters are now paying record prices, people are talking about $2.45 per kilogram for feeder steers. That’s incredible.
“Further to this, Indonesia has released 260,000 import permits for the fourth quarter of this year. This combined with emerging markets in Cambodia and strong trading relationships throughout Asia are all good signs of growing this industry even further.
“The Country Liberals Government is determined to continue building our live export industry. We want to work with pastoralists to grow the Territory’s herd. This Government supports our live exporters and we are proud of their achievements.”
