THE loss of the Launceston City Council-owned Killafaddy saleyards would be bad news for the industry, Australian Beef Association chief executive David Byard said.
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Mr Byard, of Launceston, said the loss of Killafaddy would make competition for meat in the North practically non-existent.
"A lot of reasonably sized operations take a lot of stock to Killafaddy," he said.
"The problem is that the supermarkets have dropped out from buying at the saleyards and the processors don't like the extra competition of buying in saleyards.
"There are a lot of operations up the Tamar and for them to take their cattle to Powranna or Quoiba is a terribly long way compared with Killafaddy and would probably double their cartage costs."
Mr Byard said one option could be for the council to look at something outside Launceston to invest in if it didn't want to operate out of Killafaddy, but on a smaller scale.
"The current alternatives are just too far away," Mr Byard said.
"I don't necessarily see the council running it - this is probably the only saleyards in Tasmania solely owned by a council.
"But there are a lot of different areas run by the council as a service to the community and the money that flows through the Northern Tasmanian economy, directly and indirectly, because of Killafaddy, is considerable.
"It costs the council more than 10 times Killafaddy's cost to run the Launceston Aquatic Centre, but I would argue that Killafaddy returns more to the economy.
"Lots of people make Tuesday their `come to town' day to coincide with the stock sales - they have tyres fitted, visit farm suppliers for machinery and so on.
"I'd like to see the figures on just how much having Killafaddy brings into Launceston.
"The loss of Killafaddy will see all that business leave Launceston."
Elders stock manager Colin Cook told the Sunday Examiner the closure of Killafaddy would affect the whole livestock industry.