2019, Volume 22, Paper 5
ISSN: 2209-6612

The Impact of ESCAS on Generating Surplus in the Australian Livestock Export Chain[1]

Ben Thomas – Postgraduate student, University of Melbourne’s Master of Agribusiness programme.
Garry Griffith – Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville; Centre for Global Food and Resources,

[1] The authors would like to thank all survey participants for their time and valuable contributions to the study. They also thank two anonymous referees for helpful suggestions.

Abstract

Partially due to public perception pressures, and partially due to international standards to export live animals, the Australian livestock export industry has many government-enforced and self-imposed regulations. These were heightened in 2011 after the temporary suspension of the cattle trade to Indonesia in the wake of footage aired by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) uncovering inhumane treatment of Australian cattle in that market. As a consequence, the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance Program (ESCAS) was developed. This study aims both to assess various value chain models to measure the effectiveness of ESCAS in generating supply chain surplus for the Australian livestock export industry and to provide the background research to conduct a full value chain assessment. The study includes a literature review on the various means of conducting value chain analysis, and determines that a contemporary model is likely to be the best approach. The foundation research utilises existing findings on the cost of regulatory compliance; assesses previous research on animal welfare; analyses international livestock trade data; and conducts an original industry survey. The conclusion is drawn that while ESCAS reduces value chain surplus through higher economic costs, it enables the industry to continue to ship livestock to overseas markets. This access also assists to improve public perceptions and the social licence to operate, and therefore results in ESCAS being effective in generating value chain surplus.

Keywords: Animal welfare, effectiveness, ESCAS, livestock export, value chain surplus.

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