Other Names
Current Operation
- Aus Meat Accreditation registration dated 29/12/2015 #397 – JBS Australia Pty Ltd (Cobram).4
- registered as a Sheep, Goat, Offal export facility.4
- Victorian PrimeSafe licensed facility – Accessed 13/04/2017
- Direct employment enquiries to www.jbssa.com.au
Location
- Cobram is located on the Murray River in far northern Victoria.
- Murray River is the border of Victoria and New South Wales.


Location relative to other abattoirs across Australia
Location of Australian Abattoirs
How this map works.
This is a google engine layered map. At the moment it consists of 7 layers. By clicking on the box on the right hand side of the layers names it will illustrate the location of the abattoirs.
This is a work in progress and is not a complete list of all abattoirs that have operated in Australia or are currently operating.
Locations are approximate and are in relation to the closest town to which they are addressed.
The same abattoir site may appear in two different lists.
Use this link to access the Google map Australian Abattoirs locations.
Location of Australian Abattoirs
Owner
- JBS Australia1
- Abattoirs owned by JBS in Tasmania
- Abattoirs owned by JBS Queensland.
- Townsville (QLD)
- Rockhampton (QLD)
- Dinmore abattoir (QLD)
- Riverview (QLD)
- Toowoomba (QLD) – more commonly known as Beef City
- Abattoirs owned by JBS in Victoria
- Abattoirs owned by JBS in New South Wales
- Abattoirs owned by JBS in South Australia
Operation
History
2012
- JBS Australia split into two operating entities to make Northern and Southern regions in relation to abattoirs and feedlots within those areas1.
- South – Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania1
- North – NSW and QLD.1
2013
- November. JBS Swift Australia install closed-circuit television camera’s (CCTV) in it’s Australian meatworks.7
- For the purpose of animal welfare and meatworker safety issues.7
- CCTV for internal use by only JBS, with no plans to allow outsiders to view the footage.7
- JBS’s US beef division (which includes Australia) delivered drop in net sales and earnings in it’s third quarter financial results.8
- Australia’s division performance and overall contribution to the overall result is impossible to distinguish due to inclusion with US and Canadian beef processing results.8
- Earnings before tax $134M,.8
- Down by 22.5% on previous quarter.8
- Down by 28.4% on third quarter last year.8
- result reflection of domestic North American markets.8
- Improved performance had occured in Australian.8
- Demand had increased in Chinese markets.8
2014
- July. JBS Australia across all facilities in operation kills daily1
- 8,500 cattle,1
- 24,000 smalls – which includes lambs1
- Employs more than 8,000 people1
- July. JBS Australia purchase majority shareholding in NSW based Andrew Meat.6
- specialise in high quality, portion cutting and further processing of meats for domestic and international restaurant and foodservice customers.6
- produce ready-cooked meals.6
- company banner Creative Food Solutions.6
- Andrew Meat will allow JBS expansion into high growth retail and value-adding segments.6
- Expansion of the Andrew Meats business will start in November .9
- JBS global strategy to expand into value added meat protein – opportunity to expand margins.9
- JBS have an existing value-added division – Food Partners.9
- supplies food service customers like Pizza Hut and Domino’s with toppings.9
- Andrew Meats focus will be produce ready meals.9
- ‘grab & go’ beef roasts, designed to compete head on with hot cabinet roast chickens sold in supermarkets.9
- Domestic markets were very immature but also with significant growth potential.9
- At this time JBS operate.6
- 10 processing facilities.6
- Daily processing capacity of more than 8,000 cattle and 21,000 small stock.6
- 5 feedlots.6
- December. JBS currently operate 12 meat processing plants across 5 Australian states2
- Wages & local procurement $730M (Excluding livestock purchases)2
- Employs 8,500 people at the facilities2
- Employs 12,000 people in Australia2
- Total revenue of $6.5B2

JBS processing plants in Australia
Source JBS submission #50 Market Consolidation.
- JBS estimates its current share of four eastern states beef kill – 20% (excludes service kill)2
- JBS share of Australian beef production 16%2
- Market share of national small (lamb, mutton & goat) 16%
- JBS spent $2.4M on halal certification costs of approved religious certifiers in 20142
2015
- June. Cost of processing in Australia 1.5-3 times the cost of processing animals in another country2
- cost of processing grain-fed cattle in Australia is twice of the USA2
- lower levels of productivity in Australia in regards to kg per unit of labour2
- 2 major differences between Australia and the USA2
- Government regulation
- $10 a head more in Australia2
- Dept. of Australian Agriculture fully recover costs of meat export inspection and certification2
- Australia wide DAFF costs $80M2
- JBS contribute $14.5M2
- Export plants don’t use DAFF but use approved employees, which plants fully cover costs2
- JBS estimate an additional $30M at Export level2
- USA & Brazil governments provide services at no or minimal costs to processors2
- Energy Costs
- $15 a head more in Australia2
- Technical barriers to trade (TBT’s)- Total value in Australia estimated at $1.25B as identified costs2
- 261 TBT’s in 40 key markets2
- 136 have significant trade distortion impacts2
- July. The following charts are from a submission by the Australian government Department of Agriculture to the Senate rural and regional affairs and transport references committee inquiry into Market consolidation and the red meat processing sector.
-

Share of throughput by state for beef in 2014. Pg 16

Major Processing companies by market share May 2015. Pg 16

Cattle Movements to abattoirs. Pg 25

Hourly labour costs for food manufacturing industry Pg 30
- December. ATO publishes tax data for agribusiness corporates.3
- Data interpretation – Companies do not pay company tax on revenue (total income) they pay on profits after paying all expenses, including wages, capital replacement, supplier costs and other operating expenses.3
- Income tax information is for 2013/14.3
- JBS Holdco Australia Pty Ltd produced Total Income $4,040,948,610.3
- Taxable Income $419,882,525.3
- Tax Payable $44,809,334.3
2017
- March. JBS will close Cobram facility temporarily10.
- Longford (Tas) is already closed temporarily, closure extended an additional month10.
- Cobram plant last kill scheduled 16/03/201710
- closure to occur for 4 weeks10
- Staff only informed of closure 17/03/201710
- Currently 290 staff at the plant10
- Cobram can process 3,200 grass and grain-fed lambs a day, as well as hoggets and mutton10.
- Closure is due to livestock supply challenges10
- Tight supplies10
- High Livestock prices10
- Erode processing margins across Eastern Australia10
- Animal protein industry was highly competitive in Australia and Internationally10
- Livestock supply has decline severely in the last 12 months making procurement of stock very difficult and expensive10
- Other abattoirs are temporarily closing10
- Cootamundra (QLD). Manildra Meat Co 10
- February 2017. Cootamundra dropped 150 permanent staff and 70 casuals15
- Administration deemed the business unable to work in a viable manner15
- Lamb prices exceeding $6/kg or $250 per head15
- Deniliquin abattoir Australian Meat Group15
- Closed 17/03/2017 due to high lamb prices15
- Closure had been described as temporary but no sign yet of re-opening15.
- Esperance (WA) Shark Lake Meatworks10
- Placed in administration 24/02/201715
- Goulburn (NSW). Southern Meats 10
- Gunbower (Vic) McGillvray10
- Closed after more than 60 years of operation15
- Wallangarra (NSW) TFI15.
- May have closed or significantly reduced operations15
- Cobram Closure is a stand-down10
- Consistent with the plant’s Enterprise Agreement with staff10.
- Technically is a temporary stand-down rather than a staff stand-down10
- re-opening will be considered in 4 weeks on 24/04/201710
- Usual for short seasonal maintenance shutdowns for this time of year10
- Livestock processed under the Great Southern brand program at Cobram or10 Longford (Tas) will be transferred and processed at Brooklyn (Vic)10
- Competitive market access internationally was being affected by timeframe to finalise an expansion of chilled markets for beef and lamb to China10
- Current model of high livestock prices was not sustainable10
- High prices good for producers10
- operational costs for processors, energy or general regulatory costs were playing a significant part in Australia’s competitiveness against America, Brazil and New Zealand processors10.
- Labour costs10
- red tape associated with cost of compliance10
- Expected reduced lamb processing capacity in Australia later in the year10
- Restocker sheep indicator 145c/kg higher than previous year10
- Light lamb indicator 101c/kg higher than previous year10
- Trade lamb indicators up 69c against year ago levels10
- Heavy lamb indicators up 52c against year ago level10.
- Prices are forecast to go higher in winter due to supply shortfall10
- Up to 350 workers will be affected by the 4 week closure11
- Staff had been informed 17/03/201711
- Notice had been given that staff were not required to attend work from Friday 17/03/201711
- Kill floor staff to return 18/04/201711
- Boning room staff to return 19/04/201711
- Load-out, maintenance, skin shed and rendering staff may be required to work intermittently during the stand-down period11
- Staff were to be paid accrued annual leave during the stand-down period11
- Staff had heard of the Longford (Tas) stand-down and had been nervous that the same thing would happen to them at Cobram11
- State Member for Ovens Tim MCurdy calls on the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to visit Cobram in the wake of the abattoir shut-down12.
- Wants a plan in place to support the community incase the shut-down is longer12.
- Had been a difficult year in the region for primary producers12
- Murray Goulburn announced farm gate milk prices drops that affected many local dairy farmers12
- April. Cobram abattoir stand-down is extended another month13.
- Stand-down is now expected to extend for months14.
- Return to work not expected until September or October14.
- Possible stand-down could stretch out for 8 months14
- Affecting 241 employees14
- Workers were not able to apply to Centrelink as they were not made redundant14
- JBS have made some staff positions redundant14
- Longford (Tas) temporary closure is also extended for the full extent of the current season14
- Stock that would have been processed at Cobram or Longford (Tas) are now being diverted other company facilities at Brooklyn (Vic) and Bordertown (SA)
- 9 Major closures of processing plants at different companies across eastern Australia have occurred recently14
- Plants that remain in operation are working on loss-making skeleton 3 day weekly kills15.
- Questions the over-capacity in the lamb processing industry relative to the supply pool15
- Exacerbated by the advent of the Tier One export certification process15
- Former domestic only plants gained export status to export their products and expanded the facilities to increase sales15.
- Volatility in the processing sector has always been a common factor15
- Drought – stock are in oversupply15
- Allows high profitability to the processor 2-3 years ago15
- Dramatic stock shortage leads to big losses in processing as base cost of the animal increases15.
- Export markets unwilling to pay more adds to buy-sell impact15.
- High levels of foreign investment interest in processing recently15
- Stock supply shortages are partly affected by the strength of the current wool market15.
- Stock retained at the moment were Merino wethers that previously would have been placed into lamb production15.
- Domestic retail price wars are blamed for current cost-price squeeze on lamb processors15.
- Current supply challenge and processing plant impact is without precedent15.

Source Australian Export Abattoir Locations 2014
Location sites of export abattoirs accredited as Aus-meat facilities 2014

Source Australian Abattoir Locations – Temporary closures during 2017
Location of export abattoirs and domestic (Gunbower) facilities that have been forced to significantly reduce operations or shut-down for lengthy periods in 2017 due to shortage of stock supply (Sheep)


Sources Cobram Vic. JBS
- ‘The next Swift Shift’ The Weekly Times. 30.07.2014
- sub50_JBS Inquiry into the effect of market consolidation on the red meat processing sector
- ‘ATO publishes tax data for agribusiness corporates’ Beef Central 18.12.2015
- AUS-MEAT Accreditation Listing 29.12.2015
- ‘Big Beef producer cuts deal with Tasman group’ The Age 06.03.2008
- ‘JBS takes stake in Andrews Meat’ www.farmonline.com.au 09.07.2014
- ‘Swift CCTV camera action’ Weekly Times 13.11.2013
- ‘JBS delivers lower third quarter beef sales, revenue’ Beef Central 14.11.2013
- ‘What’s behind JBS taking a big stake in Andrews Meat Value adding Businnes? Beef Central 10.07.2014
- ‘JBS shutters second lamb plant, as livestock supply and price issues intensify’ Sheep Central 17.03.2017
- ‘Stand down at abattoir’ Cobram Courier 23.03.2017
- ‘Premier asked to visit JBS staff: McCurdy’ Cobram Courier 29.03.2017
- ‘Stand-down extended at JBS Cobram’ Cobram Courier 12.04.2017
- ‘JBS cobram stand down extended for months’ Cobram Courier 19.04.2017
- ‘Indefinite closure for JBS lamb plants, as supply challenge reaches critical point’ Beef Central 20.04.2017
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