A HEIGHTENED presence in Canberra on the part of meat processors looks to be paying off with hints there may be some government announcements in the near future around two critical challenges - costs of compliance and market access.
In what has arguably been one of the toughest years on record for beef processors, where profit margins have at times dipped to as much as negative $100-a-head, peak body efforts to gain traction on key issues have been critical.
The Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC) has set up an office in Canberra and a recent high-level delegation, which included multi-site and multi-species companies and both domestic and export businesses, was able to garner an audience with ministers across both sides of politics.
AMIC chairman Lachie Hart said the feeling was the industry was finally being heard.
There was a definite realisation in Canberra that with the demise of the car industry, red meat and pork processing was now the largest trade-exposed manufacturing sector in Australia.
The big issues processors have been lobbying for action on include rising energy costs and the need to cut the cost of production here if Australian beef is to remain globally competitive.
This had become a crippling challenge, particularly in South Australia, Mr Hart said.
Abattoir bosses have warned this issue alone may ultimately drive the industry offshore.
Some of the larger processors cited a figure of $20m in increased energy costs in the past 12 to 24 months.
Labour issues, the new policy on 457 visas, infrastructure and transport economies and regulatory and cost burdens, exacerbated by government red tape, have also been issues high on the agenda.
The need to protect the image of Australian product as only being produced in Australia rather than being processed overseas has also been expressed by peak body representatives.
“We have been critical in the past of the Department of Agriculture not considering processors’ interests but we are definitely getting a lot more notice from all sectors of the parliamentary cabinet now,” Mr Hart said.
More meetings were lined up and there was hope for announcements of initiatives which would deliver some relief and support, he said.
“We are in incredibly difficult times for processors,” Mr Hart said.
“Export business are certainly in the red and the jump in the Australian dollar is only making it worse.
“Depending on the level of forward contracts entered into, that will have a very quick impact.”