17 December 2025. Approved 11 August 2025
AgForce Policy Statement
AgForce unequivocally supports the preservation, maintenance, and growth of the live export trade industry. Live export is a legitimate, ethical, and economically essential industry that supports regional jobs, ensures market diversity and competition, and underpins diplomatic and dependable trade relationships. It enables both domestic and international food production systems, strengthens global food security, and supports economic
development in importing nations, particularly in regions where improved access to affordable protein can help lift communities out of poverty. These outcomes are underpinned by Australia’s development of world’s best practice in both animal welfare and regulatory oversight, ensuring the live export industry operates with transparency, accountability, and care.
Executive Summary
The Australian live export industry contributes on average more than 1 billion dollars to the sector annually, critical to the nation's northern cattle (production system) and broader live export industries. AgForce strongly opposes non-science based, ideological or politically motivated restrictions on trade, including the legislated live sheep ban, due to their devastating impact on economic, diplomatic trade relationships and community
consequences.
With strong welfare safeguards such as the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL) and Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS), Australia leads the world in ethical live export. AgForce reaffirms its commitment to defend and advance live exports across all live export categories.
Background
Live export is essential to many Australian producers, especially in Western Australia and northern and remote areas, i.e., Northern Territory and Queensland. It offers risk mitigation for producers in times of drought or disaster events and provides an economically powerful alternative to unviable domestic processing, creates jobs, stimulates regional economies in numerous sectors, i.e., sheep and wool, goats, cattle, grains, and transport etc., and strengthens international trade relations. However, activist-led ideological campaigns and regulatory overreach threaten to undermine this important trade and international connections.
The Federal Government’s decision to ban live sheep exports by sea from May 2028 sets a dangerous precedent for the rest of the live export sector. History, such as the 2011 Indonesia ban, has shown how abrupt decisions can cause lasting damage. Australia’s reputation as a dependable global food supplier is at risk, and regional communities are on the front line.
The broader ‘Loss of Confidence’ in the live export industry has an immediate impact on future investment, i.e., takes years to build new ships, of which, no new ships are being built to Australian standards, results in industry forced into natural attrition.
AgForce Policy Position
AgForce supports the continuation and growth of the live export industry across all species, backed by world-class standards including the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL) and the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS). These frameworks provide assurance for animal welfare from farm gate to overseas destination and continue to lift welfare standards globally. Live export trade provides critical revenue,
employment, and market access for producers domestically and internationally, which satisfies food customs, ensures food security, and in some cases, contributes to alleviating poverty.
Key Principles
Importance and Benefits for Regional and Global Communities
“The live export industry is essential for ensuring food security in many importing countries and provides a vital market for Australian livestock producers.” – Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council (ALEC).
The live export trade plays an integral role in supporting both regional Australian communities and international markets. Domestically, it provides critical market access for livestock producers in remote and northern regions where there is limited local domestic processing capacity. The alternative is long transport distances which can result in less favorable animal welfare outcomes and significantly increased freight costs. Live export ensures cattle and sheep producers have a viable, alternative sales channel, delivered via Australia’s high animal standards approach—bolstering farm gate returns and sustaining on-farm operations.
The industry also contributes significantly to local and indigenous economies through direct employment in mustering, transport, shipping, and feed lotting services, and indirectly supports veterinary, fodder, equipment, logistics, and port service sectors, and others. Many regional communities are heavily reliant on this trade, and any disruption disproportionately affects jobs, income, and community wellbeing.
Internationally, the live export trade enables Australian livestock to fill critical protein supply gaps in developing and growing economies, particularly in South-East Asia and the Middle East. The alternative is that the importing nations source livestock from export operators with less rigorous welfare and quality assurance regulations and standards compared to Australia. Our primary existing markets often lack the cold chain infrastructure, or reliable electricity required to import refrigerated or frozen meat products, or consumers preference for freshly slaughtered livestock -sold as fresh meat (akin to Australian consumers), driven by religious and cultural values. Live animals processed locally support local food security, foster cultural traditions, and contribute to the development of overseas livestock and meat sectors. Importantly, Australia’s leadership in animal welfare and supply chain transparency, raises the bar in destination markets and builds long-term, mutually beneficial trade relationships.
In essence, the live export trade generates broad and lasting benefits—economic, social, and diplomatic —that reach far beyond Australian shores.
AgForce's position on live exports guided by the following principles:
- Animal Welfare: Australia is committed to strong animal welfare safeguards, backed by world-class standards and frameworks including the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL) and the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS).
- Science-Backed Decisions: Trade decisions must be formed through evidence-based science and trade realities, and not ideologically driven.
- Legislation and Policy: Policy decisions must be made in consultation with the industry responsible for animal welfare and as environmental stewards, not activists who are removed from day-to-day food production systems.
- Regional Communities: Livestock exports are vital for domestic and international regional economies, employment, supply chain and infrastructure, customs, and for food security, alleviating poverty.
- Foreign Trade Relationships: Australia must maintain and nurture its reputation as a trusted, reliable, consistent global partner,
- Market diversification: Livestock trade provides an economically powerful alternative market to otherwise unviable and limited domestic processing, the effects of which, particularly on farm gate returns, benefit producers Australia wide. Competition in livestock markets ensures the viability of livestock production.
- Innovation and Investment: The live export industry offers ongoing- assurance schemes to uphold Animal Welfare, Workplace Safety and Quality standards, that constantly uphold best practice outcomes. In turn, industry requires government guarantee support for continued investment flow into the sector.
- Employment: The industry contributes significantly to local and indigenous economies through direct and indirect employment, any disruption disproportionately affects jobs, incomes, and regional community wellbeing.
- Environmental Land Stewards: Producers have a symbiotic relationship with nature, as land care managers, stewards of the environment, striving to improve land and production systems for future generations.
- Food security: UN World Population Prospects 2024: Summary of Results projects world population growth at 9.6 billion in 2050. Livestock export trade is essential to international interconnectedness, satisfying domestic production scarcity, and customs, with access to ethically sourced protein food, creates domestic opportunity and alleviates poverty.
AgForce’s Way forward (Call to Action)
AgForce calls on the government to publicly endorse the Australian Live Export Industry (rejecting ideological bans on live exports) based on its importance to the Australian agricultural sector and regional communities, the contribution to international food security, and the use of world’s best practices under world’s best regulatory frameworks.
The future of thousands of producers, workers, and communities (domestically and internationally) depends on a strong, sustainable live export trade. Now is the time to support one of Australia's most important agricultural sectors.
AgForce unequivocally supports the live export trade and seeks bi-partisan federal government public guarantees and support for Australia’s live export trade.
LIVESTOCK EXPORT - CASE STUDY
“The live export industry is essential for ensuring food security in many importing countries and provides a vital market for Australian livestock producers.” – Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council (ALEC)
A notable case study is the impact of the 2011 suspension of live cattle exports to Indonesia. The sudden policy change led to widespread financial losses for producers, strained Australia–Indonesia diplomatic ties and triggered the Indonesian government to seek alternative suppliers. This event underscores the importance of policy certainty and trade reliability.
In 2022, Australia exported over 575,000 cattle and nearly 500,000 sheep, generating over $1.1 billion in value. The live export industry supports more than 13,000 direct and indirect jobs, with over 60% of these in northern Australia. (Source: Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council, 2023)
See AgForce’s “way forward.”
LIVE SHEEP EXPORT CASE STUDY
“The wellbeing and health of animals is paramount for Australian producers and our industry, like our community, rightly has high expectations that all those in it look after the welfare of livestock.” (MLA)
They say, "Australia was built on the sheep’s back" – a well-known phrase in Australia, which reflects the historical dominance of the wool industry in Australia's economy and national identity. The industry's significance was so great that it contributed to the founding of one of the Australia’s major political parties—the Australian Labor Party.
The live sheep exporters have continually invested in infrastructure, animal best practice, health and safety standards, adhere to Australian regulation, and supply chain assurances. Australia’s live sheep export trade provides vital food security to Qatar (25,000 head), Kuwait (23,000 head), Jordan (28,000 head) while United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, among others, also received Australian sheep.
The cessation of Australian live export trade, yields to activists, occurs without clear scientific, trade, and economic evidence, and undermines confidence in Australia as an international trade partner, with government decision making passing laws to end live export trade by 1 May 2028, are contributing to world food insecurity and defragmenting the very fabric of nations regional communities.
The moratorium during the 2019 season is estimated to have cost the industry $65.8 million in foregone revenue nationally. This would equate to a shortfall of $29.6 million in farm revenue earnt via the live sheep export trade. Assuming a 30-50% lower saleyard price for stock turned off to the domestic sector in WA this would mean a loss to farmers between $7.3 and $12.1 million for the 2019 season.
Background
The operation of the live sheep export trade was temporarily halted in late June 2018. No sheep were exported from Australia to the Middle East until approvals were made by the department in September 2018. The following year, a moratorium on live sheep exports to the Middle East was self-imposed by Australian livestock exporters as part of a number of wider ranging industry reforms, including the Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council
(ALEC) Code of Conduct. The moratorium, in effect from 1 June until 30 August, aimed to remove concerns for heat risk challenges associated with shipments in the northern hemisphere summer period until the industry developed new technology and solutions that ensure high standards of welfare. The 2019 moratorium was enforced through regulation, and in August 2019 the department announced an extension by a further three weeks to 22 September 2019 due to ongoing concerns about the likelihood of heat stress events during the northern hemisphere summer shoulder period.
The reduction in the trade during the June to October period in 2018 is estimated to have cost the industry $83.6 million in lost revenue nationally. Value chain analysis of the live sheep export trade shows that approximately 45% of the revenue earnt via the trade is returned to sheep farmers, which would equate to $37.6 million of lost sales revenue to the farm gate from the live sheep export trade. During this time farmers may have turned
off stock for domestic market, but this would have been at prices below what they could have achieved via the live export avenue, particularly in WA. A 2018 CIE report investigating the benefit the live sheep export trade brings to saleyard prices determined that an absence of the live sheep trade results in a 30-50% approximate reduction in prices at the saleyard in WA. (Source: MLA, 2020)
See AgForce’s “way forward.”
References:
1. Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council (2023). ‘Livestock Export Facts.’ https://auslivestockexport.com
2. Meat and Livestock Australia (2025), ‘live export’. Meat & Livestock Australia - serving red meat and livestock producers | Meat & Livestock Australia
3. Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (2023). ‘Live Animal Exports.’ https://www.agriculture.gov.au
4. Red Meat Advisory Council (RMAC). ‘Red Meat 2030’. https://www.rmac.com.au/rm2030-initiatives/
5. National Farmers’ Federation (NFF). Live Sheep Export Policy. https://nff.org.au
6. UN World Population Prospects 2024: Summary of Results https://www.un.org/en/UN-projects-world-population-to-peak-within-this-century
7. Meat Livestock Australia (2020). ‘Impact of the Live Sheep Export Trade's Self-Imposed Moratorium and Regulatory Changes.’ https://www.mla.com.au/research-and-development/reports/2020/impact-of-the-live-sheep-export-trades-self-imposed-moratorium-and-regulatory-changes/
8. LiveCorp (2025). ‘Understanding the livestock export journey.’ https://livecorp.com.au/