May 4, 2011

 

Australian beef exports decline in April

 

Australia exported 73,784 boneless tonnes of beef in April, down 16% from the previous month and 1.3% on-year amid signs of increasing market diversification as the Australian currency posted fresh 29-year highs.

 

Exports in April took shipments in the first four months of the year to 279,887 tonnes, for a gain of 6.4% from a year earlier, according to monthly data issued Tuesday (May 3) by the Department of Agriculture.

 

With annual beef exports valued around AUD4 billion (US$4.32 billion) a year, Australia is the second-biggest supplier after Brazil to the global trade.

 

Richard Rains, chief executive of privately-held beef exporter Sanger Australia Pty Ltd, said the fall in shipments in April from March mostly reflected reduced availability of product, rather than the impact of the strong currency.

 

The industry exports about two thirds of its output, and while production rose to a high level in February, the impact of heavy rainfall curbed output in March and April, in turn limiting export availability, he said.

 

"But we're expecting (output) to pick up again in May, likely lifting exports," Rains added.

 

Among major markets in April, exports to the US of 13,247 tonnes fell 15% from the previous month and 20% from a year earlier. Shipments to the US in the first four months of the year fell 16% from a year earlier to 48,391 tonnes, according to the official data.

 

Rains said year-to-date exports to the US are well down on previous years and that the strong Australian currency is making it difficult for Australian beef in the US, as well as in other markets where meat from the two countries compete.

 

The Australian dollar posted a fresh 29-year high on Monday at US$1.10, after trading around parity earlier in the year. It traded at US$0.81 in June last year.

 

Beef exports to Russia in the first four months of this year of 18,671 tonnes are almost three times higher than the year-earlier period, while shipments to South Korea in the same period of 50,515 tonnes are up 43%.

 

Australian beef exports to Russia were helped by limited supplies from traditional South American exporters Brazil and Argentina.

 

Exports in April to Japan of 26,383 tonnes fell 17% from the previous month and took shipments in the first four months to 105,013 tonnes, down 7.5% from a year earlier.

 

Among Southeast Asian markets in the January-April period, shipments to Taiwan rose 19% from a year earlier to 9,912 tonnes, and exports to the Philippines rose 40% to 7,142 tonnes, but exports to Indonesia nearly halved to 6,591 tonnes.