ONE of WA's largest export markets is still yet to adopt ESCAS-compliance and is already looking at other sources for its livestock.
Farm Weekly first reported the issues surrounding Saudi Arabia in August, and at that time the industry was hopeful it could get the country to become ESCAS-compliant by the middle of 2013.
But while the industry remains confident, Saudi has been looking at other countries for its livestock - namely Brazil.
WA Live Exporters Association (WALEA) chairman John Edwards said there had been no update to report on the implementation in the country but believed exporters were doing their utmost to get it achieved as soon as possible.
But Mr Edwards had his concerns about the future of the Saudi market.
"Saudi officials have recently come to an agreement with Brazil to import more live cattle from Brazil," Mr Edwards said.
"We are hearing more intelligence about the Saudi market looking at additional countries (as a source) which they haven't previously done before and they are negotiating health protocols to allow that to happen.
"And they are all things we (Australia) need to be able to counter and currently with a very strict regime, as imposed by ESCAS, it doesn't necessarily endear us to the Saudis at the moment."
Meanwhile, as of Tuesday this week, all live exports from Australia will have to adhere to ESCAS.
It represents the final Tranche of the new live export regulations meaning Brunei, Mauritius, Russia, Vietnam and all other markets and new markets will now need to be ESCAS-compliant before a live shipment can leave Australian shores.
Libya, along with Saudi Arabia, is expected to be compliant later in 2013.
Mr Edwards said all exporters were encouraging their clients to align themselves with ESCAS as quickly as possible despite their on-going resistance to it, for a variety of reasons.
Mr Edwards said as a result of ESCAS, market growth would prove to be exporters' biggest challenge in 2013 .
"What we are seeing is that few markets are affording any growth," Mr Edwards said.
"ESCAS put an end to growth in markets particularly in the Middle East which we service at the moment and I think they will be largely constrained to the existing clientele."
Mr Edwards said 2012 would definitely be a year the industry would not forget.
"We are not running away from the principles of ESCAS," he said.
"But we believe there needs to be some more flexibility in the mechanisms which guide and control ESCAS, in order to be able to grow the markets and provide long term sustainability for the industry and to encourage investment going forward.
"The Federal Government had been too heavy-handed with the imposts it had put on the industry and the extra requirements were unnecessary."
In September last year the industry suffered a three week delay in live export shipments following the issues Wellard Rural Exports had in Pakistan.
The problem in Pakistan led to the Australian Government telling live exporters they needed a contingency plan which also had to be ESCAS-compliant.
"They haven't been able to balance practicality and reality," Mr Edwards said.
"Costs to exporters is in the millions of dollars but the opportunity costs are even higher.
"It is quite hard to put a cost on it because if you look at the hold-ups we have had this year, there were no shipments to the Gulf in March.
"The opportunity costs to industry throughout the year have been huge.
"The implementation, the delivery of ESCAS and the regulatory costs which have fallen out of shipping delays and all of that has run into the millions of dollars.
"We strongly believe in the welfare requirements as do our customers and we need to see some more flexibility in ESCAS."
Federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig said the introduction of ESCAS to the third and final tranche of live export markets was in line with the government's commitment to reform the trade and forge a strong future for the jobs and communities it supports.
