RESULTS from live exports to the Middle East continue to improve after the Al Messilah arrived in the Persian Gulf recently with a 99.86 per cent success rate for sheep and a 100pc delivery rate for cattle.
The 21-day voyage from the first vessel to leave Fremantle in September after the extended three-month moratorium on live sheep exports ended, took 54,390 sheep and 467 cattle to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.
Rural Export and Trading WA (RETWA), as the largest sheep exporter in Australia to the Middle East, was granted an export licence late in 2018.
Since then the company has exported more then 768,500 sheep to Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, delivered over 12 consignments.
These consignments have had delivery success rates ranging from 99.54pc to 99.89pc.
Shipments in May 2019 under new allometric stocking densities discharged with success rates of 99.83pc and 99.89pc.
"This is a significant improvement on previous industry averages," a RETWA statement said.
"In efforts to further improve voyage results, we are not only basing success on minimal mortalities but continue to work with industry on research into the best animal welfare and wellbeing measures to help deliver and verify good welfare outcomes on voyages."
Before the changes in stocking density, the industry averaged a 99.3 to 99.7pc success rate.
The company admitted that during one of the 12 voyages there had been a minor 12-hour delay in discharge at a port.
It recorded sheep panting scores ranging from 1-3 during the voyage, with wet bulb temperatures of 29-33 degrees at times during the voyage.
"The sheep had adapted well to voyage conditions and since discharge have acclimatised well in the importing market," RETWA said.
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RETWA "fully supported the industry lead moratorium for June, July and August and the science behind this decision to ensure a sustainable trade".
RETWA is the Australian subsidiary of Kuwait Livestock Transport and Trading Company, which trades in Kuwait as Al Mawashi and supplies sheep to Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Oman.
Since its establishment in 1974, KLTT has been the world's biggest live sheep transporter and in the past 45 years has shipped more than 80 million Australian live sheep to the region on its Australian government-approved fleet of vessels.
Recently the company announced that it had sent the Al Shuwaikh to South Africa to sure up enough supplies of livestock for its markets because the three-month moratorium had been extended for a further 20 days, creating uncertainty in the future of the market.