Karumba export facility under new ownership

Previously owned by the family of the late John Kaus, the business was first established in 2003 and served as a niche market facility for those graziers in the immediate area.

Etheridge mayor Barry Hughes said the port was unique in its ability to service smaller vessels which suited the productivity that was coming out of the gulf when it was in operation.

"The larger vessels that frequent the ports of Darwin and Townsville certainly weren't able to have access to Karumba, but there was a burgeoning market there in terms of smaller ships being able to access and go directly to the port facilities in Indonesia, which couldn't handle the capacity of the larger vessels," he said.

Mr Hughes said live export out of Karumba had been a booming business once, but was always dependent on Century Zinc Mine being operational so port access was achievable.

"It's long been dependent on the mining Industry to maintain the access to allow those live export ships to come in," he said.

"The Monsoon event of 2019 had a major impact on the port itself in terms of the amount of sediment that came down the Norman river and was deposited throughout that access point into Karumba harbour.

"Of course we lost somewhere in the vicinity of 600,000 head of cattle from the region as well."

Mr Hughes hoped that under the new ownership the door would remain open for further discussions around what the future might hold for the live export facility at Karumba

"I'm not privy to the specific details and I haven't had any contact with the new owners but I would hope from an industry perspective that the door stays open for further future discussions," he said.

"I believe there's options there but we've got to line the ducks up in terms of some of the broader issues behind the closure of that port facility as well.

"We'd certainly like to see a little bit more focus from the port authority management around the live export facility, as well as marketing strategies being widely discussed around the future of what that facility might hold."

Mr Hughes said the facility was still functional and would continue to provide great marketing opportunities right across the north and the north-west.

Agent Matthew Kennedy from Kennedy Rural in Georgetown said many of the implications had already been felt by producers, with the facility having been out of operation for the past two years.

"I guess it'll be the final nail in the coffin for live export out of Karumba if the new owners use it for a different purpose," he said.

"We're definitely going to feel more down the track if it does close to export for good."

Mr Kennedy said in its hay day there could be anywhere around 1800 head of cattle exported from Karumba every fortnight, from April through to August.

"It was another outlet, another market, the freight was very low going to Karumba for most of the Gulf producers instead of going to Cloncurry, Charters Towers, Townsville or Darwin," he said.

"The low freight component meant better weights and improved animal welfare because of the reduced travel distances."

According to Mayor Hughes, the Karumba facility still has the capacity to be a key marketing tool for the continuation of live export from the region.

"Whilst we wish the new owners well we would certainly be hoping that some of the things I've discussed may come to fruition in the near future," he said.

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