Minerva Foods Australia purchased two WA abattoirs in 2021, and both are now closed pending a review of operations.Minerva Foods has closed its sheep abattoir at Tammin, in WA's Wheatbelt, pending a review of operations and investment needs. Industry representatives say the closure is a result of dwindling stock numbers due to sheep farmers preparing for the closure of the live export trade.Minerva Foods Australia says existing meat orders will be filled by its Victorian operations.
Western Australia's livestock industry has been dealt another blow with a key sheep abattoir shuttered pending a review by its owners. Minerva Foods Australia (MFA) has ceased operations of its abattoir at Tammin, 180 kilometres east of Perth, to conduct a review of operations and determine further investment needs. The company, which is jointly owned by its Brazilian parent company and Saudi Arabia's Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company, purchased Tammin as well as the Shark Lake Abattoir near Esperance in August 2021.Minerva Foods Australia has shut the doors of its Tammin abattoir to conduct a review of operations.In a statement, MFA chief executive Jason McPhail said the company had undertaken extensive renewal of the Tammin abattoir in the three years it had operated the facility. 'MFA has taken the decision to undertake a review of operations at Tammin to fully analyse what further investment is needed,' he said. 'Where possible, staff will be redeployed to other facilities in the MFA group with a small number taking up redundancies.The closure further limits available processing options for sheep producers in WA.Livestock industry analyst Matt Dalgleish said the Tammin plant closure reflected the broader challenges facing the WA sheep industry. He said the state's sheep flock had shrunk by a third over the past two years due to producers leaving the industry, making it harder for abattoirs like Minerva to access sufficient animals to proces