Owners of the Wyndham port are confident expansion plans for the facility’s cattle yards could see annual East Kimberley live export numbers break the 100,000 mark.
Cambridge Gulf Limited (CGL) chief executive Tony Chafer said the organisation, which owns and manages the Wyndham port, was confident a deal struck with National Livestock Solutions (NLS) to lease and manage the cattle yards would benefit the local pastoral industry.
“Wyndham is geographically closer to more cattle stations than Darwin or Broome and we are confident that live export numbers through the port will exceed 100,000 in the short term,” Mr Chafer said.
A record 79,000 cattle were exported through Wyndham port last financial year, more than double the previous year’s figure of 35,000.
Mr Chafer said NLS was chosen to manage the export yards following an expression of interest process late last year.
He said the new contract would see NLS develop better feeding arrangements, animal shade, installation of a dip and the development of better options for transporting cattle from the yards to ships.
NLS chief executive Linton Batt said he was confident of increasing live export numbers through the Wyndham facility.
“We have a very large population directly to our north and, as their incomes increase, so too will demand for Brahman beef,” he said.
Australia exported 948,240 live cattle last year, a 9.2 per cent rise on 2008 figures, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released by Meat and Livestock Australia.
By NATHAN DYER
