Business as Usual

THIS morning it is business as usual at the Scone abattoir despite Australia being one of the countries listed by China as not adhering to their food labelling standards.

China has temporarily suspended beef from six Australian meat work companies and the government is working to lift the ban as soon as possible.

Patrick Hutchinson, chief executive officer of the Australian Meat Industry Council said they are confident the matter will be resolved soon.

“Scone is a strong business that there has been a lot of investment in and there is a lot of opportunity in international market places for our beef, so it is business as usual for that facility,” said Mr Hutchinson.

“More broadly our government is on the front foot with the labelling and we are working with them to rectify things as quickly as possible,” he said.

“China requires dual labelling and some of their requirements have not been met, but it is not just not an unusual issue,” he said.

“We do have a great relationship with Minister Ciobo and the team at DFAT, together with the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources,” Patrick Hutchinson said.