ESCAS alternatives on the table

However, Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce this week expressed renewed commitment to reignite the lucrative market for livestock producers, especially Western Australian sheep farmers.

Mr Joyce visited Saudi Arabia in early April with key industry representatives from the meat, livestock, grains, dairy, pulses and agribusiness sectors to push new and existing market opportunities. Federal Trade Minister Andrew Robb also toured the region in mid-April to promote improved access into the Saudi market which imported $811 million in agricultural commodities from Australia in 2012-13, mostly comprising barley, wheat, beef and sheep meat.

However, Mr Joyce’s comments were met with a warning from RSPCA Australia against cutting or changing the ESCAS system.

RSPCA said ESCAS - implemented following revelations of systemic animal cruelty in export markets after the Indonesian cattle trade ban in July 2011 - was “the bare minimum that should be required”.

“Any nation unwilling to meet ESCAS requirements should not be allowed to import Australian animals as it will allow the continuation of poor practices that don’t even meet the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines,” RSPCA said.

“There must be increased investment in the boxed meat trade in order to secure new markets for Australian producers and ensure the welfare of our animals.”

Speaking to Fairfax Agricultural Media, Mr Joyce said he was committed to finding common ground to re-open the Saudi market but stopped short of giving specific details of his recent discussions with the Saudi Minister or future agreements.

“I don’t want to give too much away but it’s about how you make sure that what ESCAS is trying to achieve, is achieved; that’s your goal,” he said.

Mr Joyce said at best the Saudi market was worth about one million head of sheep each year to Australian farmers.

“It’s very important if we can get this market going again, that we do get it going again,” he said.

“They have government-owned abattoirs in Saudi Arabia which always makes it difficult.

“As government-owned abattoirs, if you’re going to say ‘our government is going to audit your government’ that has connotations that they just won’t accept.

“But they say quite clearly, and I believe them, they’ve got no interest in having the brutalisation of animals.

“They want to do everything in their power to make sure things are done in a humane form.”

Mr Joyce said the Australian people had to stop thinking “we’re the only people who possess some sort of humane spirit”.

“Every country has examples of people doing things that are barbaric and they find out about it and try to get rid of it,” he said.

“The vast majority of people throughout the world try to do things right.”

Shadow Agriculture Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said he would be “very surprised” if the Saudi government was able to establish an importation scheme which meets ESCAS standards for animal welfare.

“I think Australia has sent a very clear message to the global community that we are happy to export live animals - but on our terms under the best animal welfare system in the world that we’ve established,” he said.

“The sector went through a great deal of pain in the implementation of that system but the sector is now I think seeing the benefits of the certainty and security that system brings. First and foremost we should be falling in behind that system.”

Mr Fitzgibbon also warned that Mr Joyce had to stop “undermining” ESCAS.

He said while the Minister praised ESCAS “at every opportunity" as a means of expressing his support for the live export industry, since day one of his ministerial appointment he “has been moving to undermine that very good system”.

“The first thing he (Mr Joyce) did was start talking about shifting the system to a more self regulatory regime then he announced he was abolishing Labor’s inspector general for live animal exports and now of course he’s talking about opening new markets, outside the scheme,” he said.

“All of those (factors) are combining to undermine the system and in turn, will undermine public confidence in the live export trade.

“Now that’s a mistake and he should get behind the ESCAS system as a means of building public confidence in the live export trade.

“It’s very strange that when he’s challenged on an event like a leakage of the supply chain Barnaby Joyce praises the ESCAS system as being the best in the world but at same time he continues to chip away at it which is a most inconsistent approach to the sector.”

CEO of the Australasia Division of Saudi investment company the Alkhalaf Group, George Assaf, said in 2012 Saudi Arabia imported eight million sheep, cattle, goats and camels from various markets throughout the world - but remained frustrated at being unable to buy Australian exports.

“Our company is one of the bigger companies in Saudi and we alone are set to take one million sheep, 100,000 cattle and 50,000 camels per year and other companies are doing the same or much more,” he said.

“We are committed to Australia, we like Australia and prefer to take our animals from Australia because Australia is a leading country for animal welfare and animal welfare is very important to the Saudi people.

“Over the years we’ve established strong demand for Australian product in Saudi and injected over $3 billion worth of trade into Australia but since ESCAS was introduced the trade has been suspended.

“We hope with the new government in Australia, the trade may once again see the light of day.”

Mr Assaf said ESCAS was “a good system” but didn’t work in Saudi because the local government “would not like any interference after discharge” of imported livestock at port and “don’t like any interference from any foreign government in their own internal affairs”.

But he said the Saudi government had recently introduced new animal welfare laws which they believed addressed Australia’s key concerns.

“We look forward to seeing Australia trying to accommodate these new laws and having trust that this can be implemented with ESCAS,” he said.

Mr Assaf said Saudi was also different to other ESCAS countries because government veterinarians oversee and control animal welfare standards in Saudi abattoirs.

He said Saudi Arabia was also a member of the OIE and “respects those standards” but was also “quite happy to make improvements”.

“Over the years MLA, LiveCorp and the Australian Livestock Exporters' Council have helped Saudi to establish animal welfare improvements and we would like that to carry on because we have a very successful MoU,” he said.

“Australia can always ask the Saudis for improvements and if they see anything that’s required they’re quite happy to do it.

“But the current animal welfare laws brought in by the government, answers all these questions.”

Mr Assaf said Saudi’s position and new animal welfare laws had been communicated to the Australian government in Canberra and they’re now awaiting a formal response.

He’s also approached Mr Joyce privately urging his support to re-open the market.

The Saudi market is worth almost $2 billion to Australia, with wheat and meat exports, including beef, dominating agricultural trade.

Emanuel Exports managing director Graham Daws said re-opening the Saudi market was critical to generating greater demand and reinvigorating prices for Australian sheep producers.

“I’m worried producers are not viable at current prices and will be looking for viable alternatives instead of producing and keeping dry sheep, which is going to affect future wool and sheep markets,” he said.

Mr Daws said the existing MoU stated that the sovereign rights of Australia and Saudi Arabia needed to be respected.

But he said “ESCAS clearly interferes with the way they do business in Saudi, so they’re confused”.

“On one hand we want to respect sovereign rights and on the other hand through livestock imports into Saudi the Australian government are interfering with way the business can be done and that’s deeply affecting our importing countries,” he said.

But he believes more “rigor” is needed in the Saudi government’s new animal welfare laws, to win over the Australian public and government.

“We need to develop a system that accommodates the trust and confidence to recommence shipments to Saudi,” he said.