Link ‘very clear’ between live sheep export ban and prices

Sheep Producers Australia CEO Bonnie Skinner has hit back, saying the government’s narrative regarding sheep prices is “very disappointing”. Watch the interview here.

Sheep Producers Australia have hit back at the government’s narrative surrounding live sheep exports, with chief executive Bonnie Skinner noting it is “really disappointing”.

Earlier this week ABARES executive director Jared Greenville told Senate estimates that sheep prices could be more attributable to market oversupply than the looming ban, however at the National Farmers’ Federation’s conference in Canberra on Thursday, Ms Skinner said there is a “very clear” link between the imminent ban and low prices.

“We’re absolutely committed [to ensuring the survival of live sheep exports]. We fundamentally don’t agree that this is a policy that is going to be implemented without causing extreme harm to producers, regional communities and our trading partners,” she said.

“It’s unfortunate that that’s the narrative they’ve chosen to run with.”

In another critique of the government’s current proposals, Ms Skinner said there was no support for its cost-recovery biosecurity levy in its current format, and there had been “basically no consultation” with producers in creating the policy.

“Policy making needs to be done in a transparent way, it needs to be inclusive, it needs to be strategic, and it needs to be evidence-based,” she said.

“We just haven’t seen that.”

However, Ms Skinner said there is still a lot to be excited about for producers.

“We are now the leading exporter of sheep meat in the world, and are very much renowned around the world for the quality of our products.”