Australian live export company Wellard exports 1,400 Australian Suffolk Sheep to China for meat breeding programme
The majority of the sheep are from West Australian farms, while a few have been sourced from South Australia and Victoria as well. This is the fourth time that Wellard has sourced sheep to China to improve the genetics of its massive flock, estimated to be about 250mn.
”There’s a huge big sheep flock in China and genetics like these helps improve that, helps improve the meat quality and gives them access to new genetics,” said Wellard sheep manager Harold Sealy.
The buyers of the Sufflock ewes are a private group based in the Shangxi province, 500km southwest of Beijing. Sealy explained that this group will take the sheep and distribute them to a group of farmers in the Shangxi province who have applied for them.
Commenting on why Australian sheep were so sought after, Sealy said, “Australian livestock is quite competitive around the world and the fact that we’re a very healthy country allows them to select here with confidence.”
