Western Australian live sheep export industry representatives say the Federal government needs to "be doing everything in its power" to recommence trade with Saudi Arabia.
Their comments come as producers across the State look to offload thousands of extra sheep into an oversupplied and depressed domestic market.
Saudi Arabia was once Australia's biggest live sheep export market, but ended shipments in 2012, prior to the introduction of the Australian Government Export Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS).
At its peak, in the 1990s and early 2000s, more than one million sheep were exported each year.
A revised health protocol with Saudi Arabia has since been completed, requiring lambs be vaccinated for scabby mouth at marking or at least 30 days prior to export.
WA Livestock Exporters' Association chairman John Cunnington said exporters and sheep producers needed the government to be doing everything in its power to facilitate market access at this time.
Mr Cunnington said the government had a duty to stand behind farmers and exporters in Australia, particularly in the current climate of depressed domestic markets, an oversupply of sheep and a loss of confidence by growers along with international sheepmeat supply chains under pressure.
"The Saudi market has been open since 2021, however high Australian sheep prices and intense competition has prevented access by Australian exporters up until recently," Mr Cunnington said.
"With sheep prices plummeting in WA a prime opportunity now exists to recommence trade.
"Exporters are setting up approved supply chains and working through ESCAS requirements."
"The government here can further facilitate this activity by aiding workable practical regulation and not over stating risk or trade sensitivities with foreign governments in order to get trade happening as quickly as possible.
"Despite the government's current mandate to phase-out the live sheep trade by sea, there are good news stories and opportunities continuing to emerge from the industry".
A Federal government spokesperson said access for the trade of live animals to Saudi Arabia was already open subject to satisfying all Australian requirements, including ESCAS regulations.
The spokesperson said there were "commercial reasons" as to why trade with the Middle Eastern country had not occurred since 2012.
They said countries, which were subject of the brief in question, had been under negotiation for many years.
"Unlike the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, there appeared to be no resolution of the market protocols, nor any commercial prospects for these markets on the horizon," the spokesperson said.
"Live sheep exports now contribute 0.7 per cent of agricultural exports from WA and just 0.1pc of all agricultural exports from Australia.
"Meanwhile, the exports of processed sheepmeat have increased by 200pc since 2003.
"The department has the option of redirecting resources to work on these market protocols should there be genuine prospects for trade to these markets to commence."
The Livestock Collective director and Corrigin stud breeder Steve Bolt said it could not be overstated how important access to the Saudi market was at this current time, particularly given the oversupply of sheep waiting to be processed or exported and challenging seasonal conditions for producers across WA.
As such, Mr Bolt encouraged both government and the department to create a pathway for the market to restart.
"The sooner we can get a movement of sheep into that market, the huge benefit from competition, for onfarm welfare, where you are able to export sheep that have no destination otherwise or are sitting in a queue," Mr Bolt said.
"It would be a huge relief for growers, as well as agents to move some of these sheep through the supply chain.
"And it would not just benefit the current season, but regaining what was once our biggest importer of sheep would go a long way towards helping drive the WA live sheep export industry back towards a stable number of one million head.
"I think that's a real prospect and something that, as an industry, we should be aiming to achieve and we are looking for government and the department to help support us to reach that target."
Mr Bolt said the government downplayed the importance of the trade, by speaking in simplistic terms about how much it contributes to exports out of WA in dollar-value.
However he said they failed to disclose or highlight the economic and other employment benefits associated industries provide in rural and regional communities.
These include, but are not limited to, wool, transport, shearing and the legume industry.
"All of these associated benefits of the live export trade are not captured when the government talks about it in isolated terms," Mr Bolt said.
"The sheep supply chain is complex and it has so many flow-on benefits for WA mixed farming systems."
