Australia: Operator of northern WA’s only abattoir enters voluntary administration
The operator of the only large-scale abattoir in northern Western Australia has called in administrators amid an ongoing government investigation and the pursuit of its parent company over millions in unpaid debts.
Documents from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) confirm the Kimberley Meat Company (KMC) and Yeeda Pastoral Company have engaged external administrators KordaMentha.
The abattoir offers many cattle producers in the Kimberley the only viable alternative market to the recently volatile live export trade.
It comes after an ABC investigation that revealed Yeeda Pastoral Company — which controls Yeeda Station, Mount Jowlaenga Station and the Kimberley Meat Company, the only abattoir in northern WA — owed more than $5 million to individuals and businesses across Australia’s north.
The money owed by Yeeda, controlled by Hong Kong-based majority shareholder Asia Debt Management, was for cattle sold and work conducted over the past two years.
In a statement issued at the time of prior reporting, Yeeda Pastoral Company said it had faced tough operating conditions “in line with other pastoral and meat processing operations across northern Australia”.
“These operating conditions were further adversely affected by the significant flood event that occurred in early 2023 while, more recently, Yeeda has also worked through significant leadership changes,” it said.
“As a result, there have been delays with payments to some creditors. We apologise for this.”
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