CANBERRA: Australia’s biggest exporter of livestock has broken its record for the most amount of cattle exported by the company in a financial year.
The Perth-based Wellard Rural Exports, shipped 389,327 head of cattle in 2014/15, helped by a record month in April when 54,314 cattle were transported on the company’s vessels; the MV Ocean Outback, the MV Ocean Swagman, the MV Ocean Drover and the MV Ocean Ute.
The busy April easily beat the company’s previous monthly record of 46,000 head set in July 2014, and the 2015 financial year shipping figure trumped the 318,262 cattle exported by Wellard in 2013/14.
The cattle were shipped to Vietnam, Philippines, China, Indonesia and the Middle East.
In a statement, Wellard CEO Mauro Balzarini, said the annual record was driven by a combination of shipping capacity, increasing trade with Vietnam, and strong demand from Indonesia.
“In particular, the addition of the MV Ocean Ute to our shipping fleet has enabled us to meet strong demand from Vietnamese and Indonesian cattle importers, ensuring Wellard continued to provide a competitive marketing option for Australian cattle producers,” he said.
“The logistics of sourcing, quarantining and shipping so many cattle requires professional and dedicated staff and robust systems and Wellard is proud to have both.”
The record by Wellard is particularly impressive given its largest ship, the MV Ocean Drover, was badly damaged by fire in October last year.
