A live export forum to be hosted by AgForce in Townsville later this month will focus on ensuring a sustainable future in the live cattle trade and making the most of new northern development opportunities.

AgForce Cattle President Bim Struss said the ‘Managing Risk: Securing the Future – Live Export Forum‘ at the Rydges Hotel in Townsville on 24 October would feature a range of guest speakers and interactive sessions.

“Queensland exports more than 20 per cent of the live cattle that make up Australia’s $1.35 billion industry to major destinations of Indonesia and Vietnam. Cattle exports provide a key economic activity across northern Australia at a time when the development of this part of the nation is seen as important for our future economic growth,” he said.

“This forum is an opportunity for cattle producers, exporters, traders, commercial partners, and government to come together to discuss how the live export sector is positioned now and where it is headed in the future.”

Mr Struss said the keynote speaker at the forum would be Hancock Agriculture Chief Executive Officer and Acting CEO of Kidman & Co. David Larkin AM, who will talk about opportunities to open new markets for northern Australia live exports.

“David has an outstanding beef industry background, winning numerous export awards, and he played a pivotal role in free trade agreement negotiations with China, Japan and Korea, providing recommendations on behalf of the beef industry on preferred policy positions,” Mr Struss said.

“We are pleased to have the CEOs of the Australian Livestock Exporters Council and Livecorp, Simon Westaway and Sam Brown, talking about the vision and direction of the industry, while the CEO of the Co-operative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia Jed Matz will also be a guest speaker at the forum.

“Other topics on the agenda throughout the day include new biosecurity and animal welfare requirements for the Livestock Production Assurance program, lay pregnancy testing of cattle, the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework, and an overview of the Port of Townsville.

“It promises to be an interesting and informative day discussing how we secure a sustainable future for the livestock export sector and make the most of emerging opportunities.”

The forum runs from 9am to 4pm and is free but registrations are essential for catering purposes, with a networking function to follow at the end of the forum.

Source: AgForce. To register for the Townsville forum and for more information, visit the AgForce website ‘Events’ page at http://bit.ly/2f93aQy