A proposal to place a three-month embargo on the export of oaten hay out of WA has been labelled an extreme measure and a sovereign risk event.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
The suggestion was put forward at a drought crisis meeting in Yornup last week, as livestock producers grapple with feed supply shortages in dry conditions.
However, it has not been well-received by local hay growers.
Williams grain and hay grower Mark Fowler understood there was a degree of desperation from livestock producers in dry conditions, but said an embargo on exports was a bad idea for a number of reasons.
"It would hurt the WA hay sector badly to put in place a mandated solution like what is being proposed," Mr Fowler said.
"Firstly, export hay businesses are just another business going about their business, with contracts and markets to supply.
"Putting an embargo in place would be a fairly extreme measure by the government and would be considered a sovereign risk event."
Mr Fowler said if such a decision was made, exporters would potentially be in breach of their supply arrangements with customers and it would badly damage their international reputation.
He said Australia had long-term arrangements in place with countries including Japan and China and would be considered an unreliable supplier moving forward.
"That would affect hay exporters initially, but would also have long-term price and market implications, which would affect all Australian hay growers in the long run.
"In Japan, they have dairies that need a certain specification of feed and they don't have paddock resources either.
"They depend on the supply of Australian fodder no less than people in the South West.
"The only difference is they actually have contracts in place, and have made provision for supply of hay to their businesses."
Mr Fowler mostly sells into the export hay market, but also has some domestic customers, who buy hay, year-in and year-out.
He said hay was one of the riskiest broadacre enterprises to engage in.
This is because there is always a risk that the hay will be badly affected by rain during the hay making process, turning the crop into a loss.
"Those same producers that are calling for a moratorium, where were they when we were trying to sell that product?
"All livestock businesses should make provision for a poor season, particularly in the South West of WA where climate change forecasts are among the most dire in the world."
Mr Fowler said it would be extremely unfair to penalise hay growers with an embargo to cover the "lack of preparedness" by another sector.
He said a better solution would be for a commercial arrangement to be reached by approaching exporters individually or as a collective.
"Any such arrangement would necessarily need to compensate the exporters for any direct or opportunity costs incurred by releasing otherwise committed hay to the domestic market," Mr Fowler said.
"That is the only way to achieve an outcome that is fair for all."
