ABC News (AU)
· collected 2026-09-17 · by Andrew Williams and Tara de Landgrafft
Rare Foods Australia, a pioneering abalone ranching company on Western Australia’s southern coast, is shutting down due to mounting financial losses and declining export prices. As of June 2023, the company had accumulated over $25 million in losses, with its net assets halving from $9.6 million to $4.7 million. The downturn stems from increased competition from China’s farmed abalone industry, which has nearly halved Australian abalone export prices.创始人布拉德·阿德ams离开行业，表示失去一半利润的公司难以适应迅速变化的市场环境。
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
In short:
Once the biggest employer in Augusta, ocean-ranched abalone producer Rare Foods Australia is winding down operations amid mounting losses.
asserted
Australia → wind → losses
Chinese supply dominance has practically halved the price of abalone exports in recent years, prompting questions over the local industry's future.
What's next?
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What → halve → future
WA abalone pioneer Brad Adams says regional fishing towns need to be able to adapt to changing global markets.
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towns → say → markets
The world's first ocean-ranched abalone operation is winding down on Western Australia's southern coast as export prices fall and losses rise.
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losses → wind → coast
In 2019, the business was riding high on an export "gold rush" to Chinese consumers, making it the biggest employer in Augusta.
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it → rid → Augusta
Locals were employed to dive and harvest abalone off artificial reefs in Flinders Bay, as well as process the molluscs at a nearby facility.
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Locals → employ → facility
Now, Rare Foods Australia (RFA) is winding down the business, having accumulated losses of more than $25 million as of June last year, according to financial documents.
uncertain
Australia → wind → documents
The company's financial hardship comes amid a slump in the global abalone market, driven by drastically expanded supply from China's farmed abalone industry.
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hardship → come → industry
The company's 2024–25 financial report, lodged with the corporate regulator earlier this month, shows RFA sustained a yearly loss of $4,833,469, and that its net assets had halved from $9.6 million to $4.7 million.
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assets → lodge → million
A wind-down strategy adopted in 2025 included workforce restructuring and reductions in operating expenditure.
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strategy → wind → expenditure
By June, it had delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange to "reduce the significant costs associated with ASX listing".
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it → delist → listing
The company also stopped seeding juvenile abalone into its artificial reefs in Augusta.
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company → stop → Augusta
RFA declined ABC's request for comment.
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RFA → decline → comment
Family founder leaves industry
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founder → leave → industry
After founding the company, then known as Ocean Grown Abalone in 2011, long-time managing director Brad Adams left RFA and the wider seafood industry earlier this year.
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Adams → found → RFA
Having followed his father's footsteps into the industry, he said stiff competition from Chinese producers had effectively halved export prices for greenlip abalone.
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competition → follow → abalone
"We were probably averaging around $55 to $60 a kilogram.
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We → average → 60
Ranched abalone is now around $30, $35," Mr Adams said.
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Adams → say → ?
"Any business that loses half its margin that quickly has to respond and adapt pretty quickly.
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that → lose → margin
"Sometimes you can't adapt, and you just have to look for other opportunities, and that's not the end of the world either.
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that → adapt → world
"
Aquaculture output 'halved'
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output → halve → ?
A drastic expansion over two decades has seen the Chinese industry reach production of around 200,000 tonnes per year.
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industry → see → year
The result has been a flooded Chinese market, once the biggest consumer of Australian abalone.
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result → flood → abalone
Mr Adams said other big players were also exiting Australia's aquaculture industry.
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players → say → industry
"It's probably halved production in the last two years," he said.
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he → halve → years
Last year, two Tasmanian farms closed, including an operation at Bicheno owned by Yumbah Aquaculture, Australia's largest producer.
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farms → close → Aquaculture
The devastating algal bloom along South Australia's coast also saw Yumbah close its farm on Kangaroo Island.
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Yumbah → see → Island
The challenging conditions have also halted plans for the industry to establish another foothold along WA's southern coast near Esperance.
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industry → challenge → Esperance
A proposal for an abalone ranch and broader aquaculture precinct began in 2017, backed by the Esperance Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation [ETNTAC], in collaboration with Rare Foods Australia and Yumbah.
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proposal → begin → Australia
But the project has sat on the shelf since.
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project → sit → shelf
ETNTAC chief executive Peter Bednall said it made sense to investigate the project's future potential, but the recent downturn meant further expansion was in question.
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expansion → say → question
"The reality is the concept we explored needs an awful lot of capital," he said.
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he → explore → capital
"We think that's really important for towns like this, that our young people have the opportunities to stay here and develop their expertise in a range of different areas."
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people → think → areas
The Aporia