THE Western Australian government says Agriculture and Food Minister Terry Redman's arrival in Indonesia on Saturday illustrates "the determination of the State Government to protect and grow the State’s live export trade, along with its commitment to strengthen the State’s trade relations with Indonesia."
Mr Redman was scheduled to meet with Indonesia’s Minister for Agriculture and the Vice Minister for Trade along with the nation’s Director-General of Livestock.
This is the Minister’s second visit to Indonesia since the Federal Government first suspended the live export trade in June; and it is understood he will be the first Australian Minister to visit an Indonesian abattoir, intended for processing Australian cattle, since that time.
Mr Redman said Indonesia was an important trading partner for Western Australia, importing $477million worth of agrifood products last financial year. In 2010, 171,000 cattle were exported to Indonesia from WA.
The Minister said enormous steps had been taken, both in Australia and Indonesia, to resume trade with the appropriate animal welfare and traceability processes in place to meet community expectations.
“My previous visit in June was focused on what we could do to help get improvements in place to get trade restarted,” he said.
“This time it’s about looking at what has been done, is continuing to be rolled out, and what further work is needed to ensure a sustained future for the trade.”
“I am keen to reinforce how much we value our trade relationship with Indonesia as a food supplier to their community, and also stress the importance we place on high animal welfare standards.
The visit has included meetings with senior members of the Indonesian Government and industry leaders, and inspection of supply chain facilities.
“I will also be discussing with my Indonesian counterparts the possibility of sponsoring workshops to increase the knowledge and skills of senior Government officials and livestock industry managers who are responsible for the delivery of a supply chain which meets animal welfare guidelines established by the World Organisation for Animal Welfare,” Mr Redman said on Saturday.
The delegation includes a representative from the Department of Agriculture and Food, and WA Livestock Exporters’ Association.
