May 4, 2007

 

Australia's April beef exports down by 21 percent

 

 

Weaker exports to main markets South Korea and Japan has pulled down Australian beef exports to 21 percent on-month in April to 73,161 metric tonnes, figures from the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry show.

 

But beef exports were still up 5.4 percent on year.

 

The agriculture department said total beef exports during the first quarter were at 300,168 bone-free tonnes, up 9 percent from a year earlier, due to strong exports to South Korea. 

 

As Australia's third largest beef export market, exports to South Korea in April were at 7,480 tonnes, down 46 percent on month and down 18 percent on year. However, in the first four months of 2007, total exports to South Korea grew 40 percent on year to 49,436 tonnes.

 

Beef marketing arm Meat & Livestock Australia Ltd., or MLA, said that beef buying in South Korea has been weak, reflecting "high levels of stocks and the expectation that beef prices will fall, with the resumption of exports from the US," which have begun to trickle back in.

 

Australia is the second biggest world exporter of beef by volume after Brazil and the biggest exporter by value. Australian beef exports rose to a record 953,932 bone-free metric tonnes in calendar year 2006, up 5 percent from 2005, with trade worth almost A$5 billion a year.

 

Its beef exports have sharply increased in 2003 after its rival US has been plagued with mad cow disease on its cattle herds. US beef has now resumed to both these markets although still in small quantities.

 

Exports to Japan in April were at 30,563 tonnes, down 21 percent on month, but up 2 percent on year. In the first four months of 2007, total exports to Japan were at 126,148 tonnes, up 1.5 percent from a year earlier.

 

Exports to the US in April were at 27,110 tonnes, down 14 percent on month, but up 20 percent on year. In the first four months of 2007, total exports to the US grew 3.5 percent on year to 95,991 tonnes.

 

MLA said the higher exports to the US in April on year were mainly in response to abundant cow supply in Australia as well as the demand for Australian chilled beef.

 

Chilled beef exports have also increased 54 percent in April to reach 3,515 tonnes, a record for the month of April, MLA said in a statement.

 

Although exports to the US in April were stronger than a year ago, they are still relatively subdued by historical standards, it said.

 

Since the discovery of mad cow disease in the US in December 2003 and the subsequent banning of US exports by its major trading partners, which has now been rescinded by Japan and South Korea, Australian beef exports to the US fell as Australian exporters responded to customer demands in North Asian markets, it said.

 

Of other markets, exports to Taiwan in the first four months of 2007 were up 3.1 percent on year at 8,326 tonnes, while exports to Indonesia more than tripled to 6,901 tonnes.