Please find attached a copy of the Bindaree Beef Plant Initiated Project (PIP) Final Report on Beef Eating Quality and Grading for your information. The report is the final outcome of a research project conducted under joint Bindaree Beef and AMPC funding into beef eating quality and grading in Australia.
The findings of the report present an overwhelming case for the introduction of a comprehensive beef grading system in Australia, which could be expected to provide an annual benefit to the industry of over $1 billion annually by increasing domestic demand.
The Australian beef industry is reaching a point of crisis and it is now critical that national measures to strengthen the domestic market are taken.
The urgency of the situation was highlighted in a recent MLA report, Northern Beef Situation Analysis 2009, which found that the northern beef industry is unprofitable, unsustainable, and in its worst state since the beef slump of the 1970s. Average northern beef producers have spent more than they have earned in 6 out of the last 7 years. The northern beef industry consists of just under half of the overall national beef herd in Australia. The MLA report can be viewed here: http://www.mla.com.au/Research-and-development/Final-report-details?projectid=14980.
The issue of national beef labelling and grading was to be considered by the Primary Industries Ministerial Council (PIMC) in April this year, but was postponed pending the finalisation of the Food Amendment (Beef Labelling) Act 2009 (NSW) ("the Torbay Bill") in NSW.
I met with Federal Minister for Agriculture Joe Ludwig on Monday, 15th November, at which time he indicated that the proposal to implement equivalent provisions to the Torbay Bill at a national level and implement a national beef grading system is to be considered by PIMC at its meeting early next year.
Regards
Norman Hunt