Qatari lamb: Why the subsidy program really came to an end

News of the Qatari government ending an Australian lamb subsidy program has rocked the livestock industry. But there’s a simple explanation behind the government’s decision.

There’s nothing sinister about the end of a lamb subsidy program between Qatar and Australia, according to one industry expert. Picture: Zoe Phillips.

THE Qatari government’s sudden cancellation of its Australian lamb import subsidy program can be attributed to a year of coronavirus volatility and heavier Australian carcass weights, according to an industry expert.

News broke last week the Qatari government would end a subsidy program with Australia at the end of December, leading to widespread speculation across the industry.

The program between the two nations saw Qatar’s share of Australian lamb exports rise from 4.3 per cent in 2014 to 7.5 per cent this year.

Meat and Livestock Australia’s regional manager Middle East and North Africa, Nick Meara, said he was not aware of any reports the program was meant to end in 2023.

“The agreement was signed at the end of 2015, and it was for trade between 2016 and 2020,” Mr Meara said.

“There definitely isn’t any political reason for this. An agreement was in place for five years. In the five years it’s been in place, the cost of getting our product into Qatar has increased considerably. Particularly in the last nine months or so, when airfreight globally stopped.”

Mr Meara said the decision would cause “short term disruption” but not greatly affect the Australian lamb industry.

“We’ll continue to ship carcasses to Qatar, because no one else is really set up in the world at short notice to do this,” he said.

“We’ll lose market share, but it’ll be across the consumer section. Australian lambs will go up at the consumer point, and there’ll be people not able to afford it and might look to cheaper protein, such as chicken.”

Thomas Elders Markets analyst Matt Dalgleish said Qatar was the third highest destination for Australian lamb, behind China and the US.

“It’s been a good program,” he said.

“There was an immediate increase (in lamb imports) then it continued to grow.”

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