Bunbury butcher sharpens up for a slice of the global market

Ryan’s Quality Meats plan to expand into international markets is in its final stages after receiving two grants last year.

The grants, provided by the agribusiness, food and trade, allowed the Bunbury-based butcher to expand its Davenport facility to tier-one export accreditation in order to grow its value-added service.

Owner Greg Ryan said the grant meant continued investment into Bunbury and an opportunity to take the business to the next level.

“Being a recipient of the Value Added Grant and WA Agrifood and Beverage Voucher last year has basically put us into a position where we are getting noticed,” Mr Ryan said.

“The WA Agrifood and Beverage Voucher allowed us to enhance our food safety program.”

“We had an expert come in, assess and write our food safety program and the knowledge we have gained out of it has helped us implement a process which we use daily.”

Mr Ryan said a lot of effort had gone into growing the family-run business to be prepared to enter the international market.

“At the moment we are 95 per cent tier one export compliant, but now we want to get into the tier two market which will cost more money but allow us to sell our high-quality product at a reasonable price,” he said.

“You actually have to be tier two compliant before you can enter the export market and that can cost up to $180,000 in auditing costs.

“We’ve got a very good chance to take this business to where we think it can go.”

Food Industry Development project manager Jon Berry said the Food Industry Innovation project had been successfully running since 2016.

“The program is aimed at supporting the Western Australian businesses that are trying to get into manufacturing,” Mr Berry said.

“The objective is to create regional jobs and improve diversification of the local economy and if a local company like Ryan’s Quality Meats can enter the export market, those jobs are going to grow even more and help Bunbury and the wider region in the long run.”