Market Another strong month for beef exports
Photo: MLA
As outlined in the graph, a fair proportion of the extra supply has been soaked up by additional demand from China but notable increases were also recorded to the US, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.
fleischwirtschaft.com — AUSTRALIA, North Sydney. August was another huge month for beef exports, with 106,000 t swt of beef ‘hitting the docks’. This figure is back from the previous month but still the second highest monthly total since August last year (107,000 t swt).
China remained the top destination, edging out Japan for the second consecutive month, with an August total of 26,000 t swt. Despite hitting safeguard last month and an extra 6% tariff applied to Australian beef, China is expected to continue importing elevated volumes of meat as they look to stockpile product ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations in late January.
Over the year-to-August, 2019 beef exports are tracking 41,000 t swt (or 6%) ahead of last year. This is unsurprising given the level of domestic stock liquidation and price support from international demand. The forecast for the next three months remains dry, so slaughter and exports will most likely remain elevated.