May 9, 2008

 

Australia's beef production for Q1 2008 down 11 percent

 

 

Australian beef and veal production during the first quarter of 2008 was back 11 percent on-year, as a combination of sluggish export demand, disruptions to processing operations and improved seasonal conditions impacted volumes.

 

Production totalled 490,707 tonnes cwt, the lowest start to a year since 2004, with production back across all states except Western Australia,  according to  the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

 

March was the eighth consecutive month that Australian beef production has declined.

Production for March was down 13 percent on-year at 179,565 tonnes.

 

According to the ABS, total beef and veal production for March was back 13 percent year-on-year, at 179,656 tonnes swt ¡¡ìC the eighth consecutive monthly decline.

 

In Queensland, beef and veal production for the March quarter declined 16 percent, to 212,246 tonnes cwt.

 

Combined with weather and holiday disruptions, the ongoing lack of finished cattle out of feedlots continued to constrain available supplies for processing. Queensland adult cattle slaughter for the March quarter was back 17 percent year-on-year, to 718,000 head, with very little change in the proportion of male (60 percent) and female (40 percent) cattle slaughtered.

 

Production for the quarter fell across all of the remaining states, with the exception of Western Australia, which saw a 4-percent increase on-year, to just below 31,000 tonnes cwt.

 

Production for New South Wales for the quarter dropped 8 percent, to 114,304 tonnes cwt, while Victorian (95,584 tonnes cwt) and SA (22,571 tonnes cwt) volumes fell 8 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

 

Surprisingly, given the significant decline in the turn-off of heavy grainfed cattle, average adult carcase weights for the March quarter remained unchanged compared to the same quarter last year, remaining at just below 270 kg/head.

 

This would indicate that the turn-off weight of grassfed cattle increased throughout the quarter - a reflection of the improved seasonal conditions in southern Queensland and northern NSW.