New Federal Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie said the live export trade was important and part of her work going forward would be "looking for new markets for this industry, right throughout Asia, the Middle East and beyond".
"It has been a very topical conversation," Ms McKenzie said.
Ms McKenzie was in Perth on Tuesday to meet with key players in the WA live export industry.
"It's an issue that the broader Australian community has had concerns about, and rightly so, over particular shipments in recent times," Ms McKenzie said.
"But it is important to recognise that in the main, en masse, the majority of shipments leaving this country have great animal welfare outcomes, particularly over the past six months.
"So talking with industry this morning and hearing about their successes in making sure that we have better air quality, a lot more space for our animals leaving and greater access to food and water as they are on their voyage - that's a really great story about the way an industry can respond to concerns and incidences and really get on top of these issues quickly, which they have done.
"I'm really proud of them and looking forward to working with them going forward to ensure that we can continue to export that great live sheep offering that we have particularly to the Middle East for many many years to come."
- See what else the new minister had to say on the industry - grab Thursday's edition of Farm Weekly.
