June 20, 2011

Australian beef imports soften on cautious buying

US imported beef prices in to Australia softened this week, with reports indicating demand from US end-users eased as they continue to purchase on an as needs basis.

US cow slaughter is also running 2% above year ago levels, although US domestic fresh 90CL prices have continued to rise week-on-week since the beginning of March, and are currently trading at a 4.3¢ premium to imported frozen 90CL product.

With beef demand during and after Golden Week (series of holidays in the end of April to early May) being uncertain this year, Japanese buying of Australian beef remained mostly cautious this week.

Reports from the market indicated that some Korean companies have been experiencing difficulties, with storage facilities at capacity due to the high pork and beef import volumes in the last few months. While average prices for imported beef in the Korean wholesale market have dropped in the last few weeks, they remain well above last year's average (HKJM).