Importing Cattle from Sabah Not Practical, Says SEDC

MALAYSIA - The Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) has continued to defend its purchase of a second cattle property in Australia, saying importing cattle from Sabah instead would incur high costs.
calendar icon 5 June 2019
clock icon 2 minute read

SEDC chairman Abdul Aziz Husain also said Sabah’s decision to discontinue cattle imports from Australia would result in a shortage of cattle.

"Not only will there be fewer cattle available for export, the price may also increase as the government will have to buy cattle from local farmers.

"In that situation, importing cattle from Sabah would not only be more costly than before but also impractical," he told FMT.

Aziz said cattle from Sabah, which are predominantly of the Kedah-Kelantan breed, produce low quality meat and do not grow as quickly as Australia’s Brahman breed.

"They are slow to grow and their matured weight is only around 200kg to 250kg. When you buy meat, you buy it by weight," he said, adding that the cattle bred in Australia are docile and easy to handle.

The Brahman breed grow quickly and finish early for good beef production, and their dressing percentage is also high with good cut-off value, he said.

"Most important is the weight of the cattle. A bull weighs 900kg on average while a cow can reach up to 600kg."

Aziz also said the price of cattle from Australia by weight is cheaper at RM13.70 per kg while cattle from Sabah cost RM14.30 per kg.

But while the price per head of cattle from Sabah is less, they only weigh about half of what Australian cattle do, he added.

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Source: Free Malaysia Today

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