Sarawak to become leading cattle meat supplier via Aussie farm purchase

China and Australia are set to sign a deal for a million cattle worth A$1bil annually, which if done would be a major boost for the latter - EPA Photo.

KUCHING: Sarawak is poised to become a leading cattle meat supplier in the Asean region, the Middle East and Australia following the acquisition of Carmor Plains Station in Darwin, Western Australia, by Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC).

SEDC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Husain said the A$20 million (RM58 million) acquisition of the new cattle station was earlier announced by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, who recently led a delegation to Australia’s Northern Territory en route to SEDC’s Rosewood Cattle Station located in Western Australia.

“The acquisition of Carmor Plains Station, which has an area of 102,547 acres (41,499 hectares) will become the new feeding and fattening centre for the 32,000 cattle belonging to its Rosewood Station.

“It will be another investment for SEDC because of its accessibility to good feeding grounds for its cattle herds all year round and provide good breeding station for water buffaloes that SEDC exports to Limbang for domestication,” he said at a media conference here today.

Abdul Aziz said the prime locality of Carmor Plains Station is also another cost saving factor because it enables SEDC to leverage on the proximity -- two hours’ drive -- to Darwin Port where the full grown cattle will be shipped out for export.

“Rosewood Cattle Station is a remote and dry area that takes two days to reach by road. When it comes to rainy seasons, the only road connecting the station to other areas are flooded and closed to any traffic which causes the cattle trading to stop its operation,” he said.

He said the impact from SEDC’s cattle farming business initiatives by SEDC was benefiting the local economy because it was also supplied high quality Bulls (male) and Hyper (female) cattle breeds to the State Department of Veterinary under the government’s “Pawah Cattle” scheme.

He said SEDC has been seeking to acquire an additional property to further develop its cattle farming in Australia for the past three years and the Carmor Plains Station would enable it to move forward in becoming one of the leading exporters of halal meat in Malaysia.

The number of cattle supply to Sarawak for breeding purposes for the past five years has increased from 135 heads in 2015 to 3,075 heads in 2018 with 1,200 heads of cattle to be exported to the state in conjunction with the upcoming Aidilfitri celebration. - Bernama