WAMMCO International

The Western Australian Meat Marketing Co-operative Limited (WAMMCO) has its origins in December 1971 when its predecessor, the Western Australian Lamb Marketing Board (WALMB), was established by the Government of Western Australia. WALMB was evolved out of pressures for a system of orderly marketing from lamb producers exerted mainly through the WA farmer body - the 10,000 member Farmers Union of WA, now known as WA Farmers. Unlike other states, Western Australia had always had to look to export markets to efficiently market the surplus of its spring lamb production, due to the limited size of the domestic market and the extremely high turn off of lamb production over a relatively short period of time between September and November each year. Consequently returns from export sales have been highly significant in determining the eventual level of returns to lamb producers. In the late 1960s the situation was aggravated by a crisis in the wool industry which resulted in an increased...