Committee Members
Gary Ekert
Chair
Daniel Galea
Ted Hebblewhite
Mal Hicks
Paul Kauter
Brian McKelvey
Observer
James Mifsud
Joe Vella
Lorraine Wilson

NSW Farmers'
Association Staff
E nswfarmers@
nswfarmers.org.au

P 02 8251 1700
F 02 8251 1750

Member Service
Centre
1300 794 000

Poultry Meat

The NSW poultry meat industry produces 250,000 tonnes of poultry meat a year which is 35% of the national production and worth $1billion. The industry is vertically integrated into 6 processors who supply chicks, feed and medication to contracted growers. Growers own their growing sheds, are contracted to a single processor and are paid a fee per bird or per square metre to grow out the birds to slaughter age. The industry is mainly barn with a minority including access to an outdoor range. 

The Contract Poultry Group has 10 members representing all geographic growing areas of the state on a proportional basis and all processor groups apart from Red Lea at this point in time. There are 6 branches: Far North Coast, Tamworth, Hunter, Central Coast, Sydney and Wollondilly. The committee work closely with the state ministerial committees the Poultry Meat Industry Committee and the Poultry Meat Industry Advisory Group. Both these bodies advise on the NSW Poultry Meat Industry Act which assists the relationship between processors and their contract growers.  

The most important issue for members is market power imbalance which compromises the fair sharing of risks and return on investment between the processing and growing sectors of the industry.

 Priority Issues

The Poultry Meat Committee priorities are:

1. Servicing poultry meat members
2. Review draft regulations and code of conduct if a public or a restricted consultation phase
3. IRA – support ACGC and ACMF
4. Watching brief on food safety primary production standards federally and implementation in NSW
5. Watching brief on national authorization or mandated code of conduct through ACGC