The live export industry has hit back at claims by Teys Australia that an increase in live cattle exports had contributed to a decision to move to a single shift at its Rockhampton plant.
Teys Australia announced on Friday night that it would streamline its Rockhampton operations from February 15 “on the back of a reduction in cattle supply and an increase in live cattle exports”.
Teys will reduce its daily throughput from 1450 head to 1215 head and consolidate into a single shift, resulting in some worker redundancies.
“This is never a good situation as we value all of our employees, however there must be work for them to do, and at this stage there is a supply shortage that is beyond our control,” Teys General Manager Corporate Services Tom Maguire said.
“Teys Australia firmly believes that our Rockhampton plant has a strong, viable future, and that it will provide employment for decades to come in the Rockhampton area.”
Today, Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council CEO Alison Penfold has hit back at the suggestion that high live exports had contributed to the cuts at Teys.
“The selling-off of stock by producers due to prolonged drought has driven the supply challenges now facing all stakeholders in the red meat supply chain,” Ms Penfold said.
“In light of the unsustainably high slaughter figures of 2014 and 2015, the downturn in throughput processors are now experiencing has been inevitable.
“But any claim that strong livestock export demand is the cause of a downturn in the domestic processing sector belies the facts and hints at a kind of ‘us and them’ mentality which is damaging for Australia’s red meat industry.
“Livestock exporters would never criticise processors for the numbers they purchase for domestic slaughter, even if it contributes to supply challenges in filling orders for the live trade.
“Applying the same principle, it would be clearly unreasonable for one processing business experiencing a production downturn to blame a competing processor for buying too many cattle or pushing prices up.”
Ms Penfold said competition was a good thing for the supply chain, especially for producers who should be able to enjoy a full range of market options when selling livestock.
“The livestock industry is cyclical and closely linked to the vagaries of seasonal conditions,” she said.
“As major players in Australia’s red meat industry, livestock exporters won’t be engaging in any dialogue which denigrates other members in the supply chain, including processors, and expect that other stakeholders do likewise.”
