SOUTH East Asian Livestock Services (SEALS) has announced that Singapore’s Yarra Corporation (Yarra Corp) has taken a controlling stake in the long-standing livestock export company.
The partnership aims to move the Asian market closer to Australian resources and comes at a time when Australian livestock exporters are looking to the Chinese market for organic growth.
Under this new arrangement, Yarra Corp will provide new capital and participate in the business development of SEALS, which will retain its management team and continue trading in its existing markets under the same name.
With a longstanding clientele predominantly based in South East Asia, SEALS will be able to capitalise on Yarra Corp’s new demand and distribution networks across China.
This gives SEALS greater buying power during the sourcing of cattle, while spreading risk associated with market fluctuations and regulatory uncertainties.
SEALS chairman John Kaus said it was a great fit in the Yarra Corp’s portfolio of companies, enabling them to continue servicing their longer-term customer base while developing new business opportunities within north Asia.
“SEALS has an extremely loyal client base with some dating back to our formation in the 1990s,” Mr Kaus said.
“We have structured the deal to ensure that our long-term clientele will benefit from the change, while giving us the ability to extend our services into new regions.”
Yarra Corp chief executive Bradley Leahey said the partnership also moved the company closer towards establishing a fully-integrated supply chain, with better cost control and quality assurance when providing for its customer base in China.
“Our vision is to be a one-stop shop, where we can provide our customers with the freshest products from paddock to plate, and the most value-for-money produce directly from Australia,” Mr Leahey said.
“We have always admired John and his team’s dedication, and are excited to be working alongside SEALS in this new phase.”
SEALS was founded in 1996 by Mr Kaus and Northern Territory livestock export legend Sid Parker.
Over the past decade it has supplied more than 400,000 head of cattle to the South East Asian market.
The Yarra Corp is headquartered in Singapore and introduces Australian produce to the Asian markets.
Currently capitalising on its rapid economic growth and the Chinese’s affinity to Australia’s produce, there is a huge opportunity for Yarra Corp to bridge the gap in the Chinese market.
SEALS sources cattle from across Northern Australia and operate out of Wyndham, Port Hedland, Broome, Geraldton, and sometimes Fremantle Ports when necessary.