April 25, 2013
Australia's beef and veal exports had increased 7% on-year during the first quarter of 2013, at 223,423 tonnes, according to the latest statistics by Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).
The rise was due to a surge in frozen shipments.
Frozen shipments during the first quarter surged 8% on-year during the first quarter, at 165,387 tonnes. The figure also represents a rise of 15% on the five-year average. Chilled exports, on the other hand, rose 5% on-year, and were steady with the five-year average, at 58,036 tonnes.
The ongoing trend towards increasing volumes of frozen product to Korea was displayed through the 22% on-year rise for the quarter, at 21,439 tonnes, while chilled shipments improved 5%, at 6,967 tonnes.
Japan continued to suffer from a weak yen during the quarter, as shipments were back in both categories, with frozen (34,661 tonnes) back 6% on-year, while chilled (27,677 tonnes) was down 3% over the corresponding period in 2012.
Assisting the significant increase in frozen shipments for the quarter has been the rapid emergence of China and the Middle East. The Middle East (9,985 tonnes) received more than twice the frozen product recorded during the same period in 2012, while China received 24,934 tonnes of frozen product between January and March – compared to less than 1,000 tonnes for the same period in 2012.
Frozen shipments to the US for the quarter were back 27% on-year, at 40,185 tonnes, with the prevalence of New Zealand product impacting Australia's trading position, along with the strong demand from China.
As a percentage of total shipments, frozen product has steadily increased from making up 69% in 2005, to 73% in 2012. For the first quarter of 2013, frozen product made up 74% of the total. With the increasing global demand for cheap protein, it could be possible for the percentage of frozen beef exported in the coming years to break the previous high of 77%, set back in 2002 – when significantly large volumes were shipped to the US and Canada.
