Beef trade
Imago / agefotostock 
After a drought of the century, cattle numbers in Australia are recovering. However, the supply of cattle for slaughter has not yet returned to its former level.
AUSTRALIA, Canberra. The balance of trade still shows the effects of the drought in 2018 to 2020. In addition, deliveries are hampered by problems in logistics.
Australian beef exporters have had a more than weak start to 2022. According to preliminary data from the Department of Agriculture there, total exports in the first quarter of 2022 amounted to 177,220 t; this was 22,640 t or 11.3% less than in the same period last year. This also represented the weakest export result in at least a decade. The long-term average for the previous decade for the first quarter of the year was missed by 27%.
There were several reasons for the decline in exports. For example, the floods in eastern Australia led to considerable logistics problems. As a result, the important port in Brisbane also had to be closed for a week due to congestion, including a lack of refrigeration capacity. There were also problems with the availability of shipping containers and difficulties with port services in the USA and some other importing countries. The sharp rise in covid infections also caused many abattoir and transport workers to be absent.
Ultimately, the continuing tight supply of beef cattle in Australia also resulted in lower export availability of beef, as herds that had been reduced due to drought first had to be rebuilt. Japan remained Australia's most important beef customer; however, at 46,530 tons, the volume shipped there in the first quarter was 8.0 % below the previous year's figure. A further import duty reduction for Australian beef to 27 % under the free trade agreement will come into effect there from April, with the levy set to fall further to 23.5 % by 2028.
Although some Australian beef exporters are still barred from importing into China, the People's Republic was the second most important customer. However, shipments there were down 5.5% from the first quarter of 2021 to 33,790 tons. In addition, sales in South Korea were down 8.8% to 33,040 t and in the USA also down 8.8% to 29,925 t. Slightly more beef could only be sold to the not so important customers in Canada, Malaysia and Thailand.
Australian beef exports to the European Union, including the United Kingdom, totaled 1,660 t in the first quarter of 2022, down about one-fifth from the same period last year. Of this, the majority (1,290 t) went to the Netherlands because of the ports there.
There were several reasons for the decline in exports. For example, the floods in eastern Australia led to considerable logistics problems. As a result, the important port in Brisbane also had to be closed for a week due to congestion, including a lack of refrigeration capacity. There were also problems with the availability of shipping containers and difficulties with port services in the USA and some other importing countries. The sharp rise in covid infections also caused many abattoir and transport workers to be absent.
Ultimately, the continuing tight supply of beef cattle in Australia also resulted in lower export availability of beef, as herds that had been reduced due to drought first had to be rebuilt. Japan remained Australia's most important beef customer; however, at 46,530 tons, the volume shipped there in the first quarter was 8.0 % below the previous year's figure. A further import duty reduction for Australian beef to 27 % under the free trade agreement will come into effect there from April, with the levy set to fall further to 23.5 % by 2028.
Although some Australian beef exporters are still barred from importing into China, the People's Republic was the second most important customer. However, shipments there were down 5.5% from the first quarter of 2021 to 33,790 tons. In addition, sales in South Korea were down 8.8% to 33,040 t and in the USA also down 8.8% to 29,925 t. Slightly more beef could only be sold to the not so important customers in Canada, Malaysia and Thailand.
Australian beef exports to the European Union, including the United Kingdom, totaled 1,660 t in the first quarter of 2022, down about one-fifth from the same period last year. Of this, the majority (1,290 t) went to the Netherlands because of the ports there.
Source: fleischwirtschaft.de; AgE
