Supply Chain

Explore the livestock Export supply chain and hear from the people that work in the industry.

What is Live Export?

Australia exports sheep, cattle, buffalo and goats to the Middle East and South-East Asia via sea or air so that people in other countries have more food to eat or milk to drink. Australia exports live animals to meet worldwide demand for protein and genetics.

Sheep Live Exports

Sheep are predominantly sourced from Western Australia due to the state’s capacity to run large flocks of sheep in the wheatbelt. Approximately 2 million sheep are exported from Fremantle Port every year.

Where do we export to? 

2023 Top Sheep Exports

  • Kuwait
  • Jordan
  • Israel
  • UAE
  • Oman

Cattle Live Exports

The live cattle trade can be separated into breeder cattle and slaughter cattle. Dairy breeder cattle are often sourced from Victoria in large numbers. Slaughter cattle are produced in huge numbers in Queensland, Northern Territory and the top of Western Australia.

2023 Top Cattle Exports

  • Indonesia
  • Vietnam
  • China
  • Israel

So why do we export live animals?

Importing countries rely on Australia for the delivery of safe and reliable food and prefer Australian livestock due to them being free from diseases and looked after well. Livestock exports allow many families access to food, at a reasonable cost, to feed their families.

Australia exports a large amount of chilled and frozen meat, in addition to live animals, to the countries we trade with. However there are some countries who simply cannot accept protein in this form, for reasons such as lack of infrastructure and national food security measures. There are also cultures throughout the world that require live animals for religious reasons.

Improving animal welfare

Australia’s efforts to help improve animal welfare is recognised as contributing to wider social and ethical change, better treatment of local sheep & cattle, improved worker safety, better meat quality and improved health status.


At home in Australia, the industry provides approximately 13,000 jobs, has a strong economic presence and provides a market for producers to sell their animals during poor seasons or drought to manage their land. Without this market it would cause animal welfare issues on-farm.


Banning live animal exports from Australia would not improve animal welfare conditions of livestock worldwide.

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2024

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