Construction will start this week on a $20 million abattoir in the Kimberley with 50 per cent of produce destined for the Asian market.
A joint venture between Yeeda Pastoral Company and Kimberley Pastoral Investments said that an agreement had been secured to supply free-range beef to Singapore.
Jack Burton of Yeeda Pastoral Company said the abattoir would be built between Broome and Derby and estimated that by 2014, 55,000 head of cattle would be processed at the site each year.
Burton said the new facility would help process heavier cattle which have been unsuitable for export since Indonesia introduced weight restrictions in 2010.
“This would never be for the replacement of live export, but for cattle that don’t suit live export,” Burton told the West Australian
The announcement has been supported from the local Kimberley pastoral industry as well as by the local and state government.
Agriculture Minister Terry Redman said he was pleased to see confidence in the industry.
"I’m looking forward to the day we cut the ribbon on that facility and see this become the sharp point for agriculture in the north," Redman said.
The facility is expected to be built by September 2013.
There has not been an abattoir functioning in the Kimberley since the Broome meatworks closed in 1994.