Here’s a checklist of inspiration for aspiring exporters. Our collection of 50 favourite export case studies shows that there is no magic ingredient to making it to the world stage, but it certainly helps to get the basics right.
Porosus Pty Ltd
Exporting since: 1982
Key markets: Europe.
Crocodylus Porosus, otherwise known as the Australian saltwater crocodile, has a worldwide reputation thanks to popular media depictions of the outback. Porosus is a commercial farm with more than 36,000 crocodiles and just 39 staff on a 70-hectare property.
The Darwin company exports in two ways, primarily through the trade of trophy skins, crocodile leather, meat and by-products but also as a tourist attraction. While the crocodile is a primitive creature, the science and farming techniques used to breed them at export quality has become increasingly sophisticated, and they end up as material for major European fashion houses.
Sales from last year hit the $2.5 million mark, and current export levels are eight times more than five years ago following the upgrade of Porosus’ Darwin Crocodile Farm. This increase marks the move from crocodile farming as a cottage industry to a global enterprise, which is where Porosus leads.
