SEALS' livestock export licence voluntarily surrendered

South East Asian Livestock Services was established in 1996 by pioneering exporter John Kaus and legendary NT-based cattle buyer Sid Parker, both of whom brought to the company decades of professional experience ranging from the northern pastoral industry to marketing cattle into south east Asia.

Before that time, Mr Kaus had accumulated over 29 years of experience in the live trade, learning all areas of the business from the bottom, as a boat stockman, to the top, as senior marketing executive with Carabao Exports.

Carabo Exports was at the time owned by the Sultan of Brunei, who decided to downsize and made staff redundant during his visit to Beef 94.

It was then, Mr Kaus teamed up with his long time mentor who had also previously worked for Carabao Exports, to gain their own export licence for SEALS.

Mr Parker was involved in the Northern Pastoral Industry for over half a century and had a wealth of knowledge which was invaluable in managing the Australian operations.

This allowed Mr Kaus to concentrate on marketing and servicing clients directly from his base in South East Asia.

For a quarter of a century SEALS has been a major player in the trade, establishing strong client base in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Brunei.

It was in 2017, the Singapore-based Yarra Corporation bought a controlling stake in the company with Mr Kaus passing away some 12 months later aged 64, after a long illness.

In a recent letter to clients, SEALS general manager Simon Hopwood confirmed that SEALS had voluntarily renounced its Australian livestock export licence at the end of June.

Mr Hopwood said that since its acquisition by Yarra in 2017, both SEALS and its parent company had been reviewing group operations, especially amid market volatility.

"SEALS has navigated significant trading difficulties which have challenged all livestock exporters and clients, including record high Australian cattle prices, increasing regulatory costs and the significant market disruptions arising from COVID-19," Mr Hopwood said.

Yarra's buy-in was at a time when a number of existing exporters and new players positioned themselves for the much-anticipated commencement of live feeder and slaughter cattle exports to China, a trade which never lived up to initial expectations.

This left exporters to compete in the existing SE Asian market, mostly during a period of tightening volumes, which has seen a number of players squeezed out of the trade.

SEALS used quarantine facilities certified by the Department of Agriculture including Noonamah Export Yards in Darwin, Roebuck Export Depot in Broome and Karumba Livestock Exports in Karumba.