Yeeda cattle herd
Yeeda Pastoral Company hopes to enter markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Middle East where demand for high-quality halal beef is strong. (Photo: Yeeda Pastoral Co.)

HONG KONG – Western Australia's largest beef producer is commissioning a processing facility that will raise the company's production of halal beef. Yeeda Pastoral Company recently secured $18 million in financing from ADM Capital.

“I can’t believe our good fortune — the last week has been long but really worth it and I think we have all achieved a much better outcome than we had originally planned for,” Mervyn Key, co-founder of Yeeda Pastoral, said.

Yeeda Pastoral is a fully integrated red meat production, processing and distribution company with a herd of 95,000 head of cattle and 1.5 million hectares of land. Yeeda Pastoral produces beef that is halal, making it fit for export to countries across the Middle East, North Africa and emerging markets in Asia.

“We are seeing strong growth in demand for beef in line with increasing income and changing dietary patterns in Asia,” Chris Botsford, co-founder of ADM Capital, said. “This coupled with food security issues in China give us strong confidence in the future of Australian beef production and in Yeeda.

“The Halal aspect is particularly appealing as our team spend a lot of time in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Middle East and have witnessed first-hand the need for high quality Halal agri product,” he added.

The Yeeda cattle herd consists of grass-fed Brahman, Brahman Shorthorn cross and Brahman Charolais cross genetics. The company also produces lamb and goats.