March 5, 2008

Australia sees lower beef exports as US moves to regain Asian markets

The Australian government said Tuesday that the country's beef exports may slacken next year as the US resumes aggressive exports to Korea and Japan.

US was previously banned from Japan and Korea due to the discovery of mad cow disease in 2003. In 2006, although the ban has been lifted, only a trickle of US beef products entered the market as the Asian countries imposed tight standards.

However, US is continuously stepping up efforts to fully regain the top beef consumers in Asia.

Australia's total beef exports are expected to fall by 4 percent to 880,000 tonnes in 2008/09, ABARE said.

Exports to Japan are estimated at 340,000 tonnes in 2008/09, down from 360,000 tonnes in 2007/08.

Korea-bound exports are forecast to fall to 110,000 tonnes in 2008/09 from 135,000 tonnes in 2007/08.

Glen Feist, regional manager for Korea at industry representative body Meat & Livestock Australia, said Korean restrictions on US beef could be lifted once a free trade deal is finalized between Korea and the US.

Japan may be slower to fully accept US beef exports, but US competition will likely increase in the market, ABARE said.

The total value of Australian beef exports is forecast to fall to AUD4 billion (US$3.9 billion) in 2007/08 from AUD4.6 billion in 2006/07, but recover to AUD4.3 billion (US$3.9 billion) in 2008/09 as cattle prices rise.