CATTLE Council of Australia president Andrew Ogilvie says he will make it his top priority to ensure the Middle East remains a rock solid market for live exporters amid rumblings the trade relationship is looking fragile.
Mr Ogilvie leaves for the region on Thursday as part of a six-day trade delegation with other industry leaders, exporters, government representatives and Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig.
The touring party will meet with governments and importers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar - all significant live export markets - regarding the implementation of a new regulatory framework that will be introduced next month to uphold internationally accepted animal welfare standards.
The Gillard Government has committed $5 million for exporters on a co-contribution basis who wish to upgrade their supply chains to improve animal welfare outcomes. An additional $10 million is also available to assist eligible countries improve animal welfare outcomes.
The tour comes as live exporters in WA fear Middle East importers may be looking elsewhere to source cattle and sheep because the new regulations are too onerous and costly.
Mr Ogilvie said the trade mission was important given the recent drop in volumes to Indonesia and the Middle East's emerging position as an alternative market, particularly with signs the region may consider accepting more Bos Indicus derived cattle in the future.
Last year, live exports to the Middle East and Africa (including Turkey), came in below initial expectations, estimated at 134,000 head - some 40pc below the previous year.
Exports to most of the major markets in the region were somewhat volatile, with internal political unrest and higher Australian cattle prices impacting shipments to Egypt in particular, according to MLA analysis.
This year's projected 31pc decline to Indonesia due to that country's desire to be self-sufficient in beef long term, will impact the total trade to the tune of 16pc overall, with some improvement in exports to the Middle East and Africa (155,000 head).
Amid the fluctuations of the live export business, Australia's beef and veal trade with the Middle East continued its rapid growth during 2011, with exports for the year increasing 31 percent on the previous year, to a record 31,862 tonnes. This is double the volume that the market took in 2009 (15,800 tonnes) and 260pc above the decade average (8921 tonnes) for 2001-2010.
In 2012, Australia's beef and veal exports to the Middle East are forecast to increase 10pc, to 35,000 tonnes.
Despite the optimistic business outlook, the Middle East remains a troubled region prone to political volatility and a magnet for animal activists seeking sensational images of animal cruelty in their ongoing campaign to have the total live export trade banned.
The suspected activity of animal activists in the Middle East looking for similar footage of animal cruelty to that which was unearthed in Indonesia last year, leading to a month-long ban on the trade, has authorities nervous about the current status of supply chain reforms in the region.
"There's a thought they might be lagging behind where they need to be at this stage, but I'd rather not pre-empt anything until I've had time to get on the ground and have a good look," Mr Ogilvie said.
"Animal activists being animal activists I'm sure they have something up their sleeve, but our job at hand is to ensure we have a robust system up and running that will safeguard the trade for the long term."
Senator Ludwig, who refused to travel to Indonesia last year to get a first-hand look at the trade at the height of the controversial trade halt and in the months after its resumption, said the Gillard Government was committed to securing a long-term future for Australia's livestock export industry.
"An important step in building that future is working with our exporters to ensure acceptable animal welfare outcomes in the trade," he said.
"Middle Eastern markets are important for Australian livestock exports. This official visit is an important way to communicate our reforms with foreign Government Ministers and key Middle Eastern importers, thereby assisting Australian exporters as they establish their supply chain assurance systems."
The delegation will visit Saudi Arabia from January 27-29 , Kuwait from January 29-30, Bahrain from January 30-31 and Qatar from January 31 to February 1 .
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