WA live export ban: Edith Cowan University and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in $3.7m program

The Federal Government has handed grants to Edith Cowan University and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry to develop new markets for WA sheep as the live export ban looms. About $3.7 million was dealt to 12 organisations through the enhancing market demand grants program, one of four streams of the Federal Government’s $139m transition package. Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said the funding would help diversify the industry and ease the impact of the export ban, which is set to take effect from 2028. “We want WA sheep farmers and those associated with the industry to benefit from new markets and the growing sheepmeat export opportunities before us, which is exactly what this funding supports,” she said. ECU’s cash will pay for market research and a pilot project testing new value-added products in offshore markets. School of business and law senior entrepreneurship lecturer Geremy Farr-Wharton will run the program, which was expected to cost $1m. About half will come from the Federal Government’s funding. “This is a really exciting project to help diversify new Australian sheep products into the Australian and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) markets,” Dr Farr-Wharton said. “The project will work closely with farmers and processors to transform existing business models, pivoting towards taking these new products to market. “These new business cases will support the overall transition of the sector, which has hit WA in particular, towards a sustainable and thriving future.” Business lobbyists CCI scored money to help young women develop careers in the sheep industry — through a program named Women Leading the Flock. It will support succession planning and host workshops across the State. CCI declined to comment on the grant, saying the contracts had not yet been signed. Also securing an infusion of taxpayer cash was the Australian Meat Industry Council, with a campaign to promote lamb at local butchers; and the University of Technology Sydney, to take a look at meat, offal and fat in East Asian pet food markets. State Government data shows live sheep exports roughly halved from almost two million head in 2014 to about one million in 2019. That dropped further to 420,000 in 2024. The industry’s value also dipped from $141m to $41m over the same decade, with Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia the main markets. Yet exports of processed sheepmeat hit $664m for the year, a record. Farmers are readying for a ban on live exports in less than three years after the Federal Government decided in mid-2024 to shut down the trade. WA’s sheep flock has declined from 12.5 million to 9.4 million head during the past three years, with the latest Australian Wool Testing Authority figures showing the amount of fibre tested in the 2024-25 financial year was down 15.6 per cent on the year prior. The Federal Labor Government announced the $139m transition package in 2024, with other programs to help shearers, truck drivers and rural communities. The $139m cash splash has been divided into four programs, with one managed by the WA Government and three by the Federal Government. WA’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is managing the $40m supply chain capacity program, which aims to strengthen WA’s sheep processing and finishing capacity by helping both farmers and abattoirs. The first of the Federal Government-run programs is the $30m farm business transition program, offering grants of up to $75,000 to help sheep producers to adopt alternative farming systems away from live sheep exports. The $1.5m livestock transport industry transition program provides up to $40,000 for trucking or transport businesses to contribute towards planning, training, and co-funded investment for transport assets.