BEEF processors may be following the same trend as the sheep industry in terms of lack of supply around the State.
Sheep processors in WA are already struggling to deal with the lack of numbers and the question being asked by many is will the same issues hit the beef industry?
Dardanup Butchering Company (DBC) chief executive Mark Panizza believes some processors are only working four days a week, purely because of the lack of numbers.
"None of us (processors) would be thinking like that if the numbers were there and sustainable," Mr Panizza said.
"But at this point in time most processors are seriously contemplating cutting back to just four days a week."
Mr Panizza said DBC was processing at about 80 per cent of its capacity.
"A lot of the cattle had gone east and that is having a significant effect," he said.
"I would say that all processors in the State are copping it at the moment, whether it is beef or lamb."
He said livestock numbers in WA were tight and that was affecting the price.
He said in November there was a 22pc price rise from 12 months before but it was unsustainable for the industry.
"We are not blaming anybody (for the livestock heading east), we just didn't have the feed or water," he said.
"The livestock had to go somewhere and that is where they went.
"And now when you are talking record prices for both beef and lamb it just isn't sustainable for any of us really."
Mr Panizza said the State needed to look at syncing the cattle industry of the north with the abattoirs in the south.
He said there needed to be some unison between northern producers and southern producers.
"The State really needs to wake up and look at live exports," he said.
"Live export really does have its issues and we need to get some syncing between the two industries and stop so much of the livestock going to live export and increasing the amount which goes through processors.
"You really need some unison between the northern producers and the southern abattoirs because a northern abattoir won't work.
"But if we could find some way of getting the mix right it would be good for the industry."
Mr Panizza said he was not against the live export trade, he just wanted to see a better balance to ensure the future of the livestock industry.
"If you were an export processor you would want your cattle going through your plant and sending boxed beef to markets," he said.
"Obviously if they send them live we don't get the economic spin offs from that but there is an understanding also that you have to have a live export market because those cattle in the north are not suited for the domestic market.
"If there is a way of getting meat offshore from processors then that would help everybody's cost."
Mr Panizza said with less numbers going through the local abattoirs boning and processing costs increased.
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