August 1, 2007

Australian June beef output up 1.6 percent from May
 

Australia's beef production rose 1.6 percent in June to a seasonally-adjusted 172,359 tonnes from 169,571 tonnes in May, and barely changed on-year, the government's Bureau of Statistics reported Wednesday (Aug 1).

The total number of cattle slaughtered, excluding calves, in June, was 642,700 beasts, barely changed on-month but up 2 percent on-year, it reported.

Australia exports about two-thirds of its beef production, with about 90 percent destined for Japan, the US and South Korea, and with the overall level of exports closely tied to production.

The bureau does not usually comment on the data.

                     Australian meat production    
              (seasonally-adjusted tonnes, carcass weight)

                     June 2007   May 2007   June 2006

Beef                172,359       169,571      172,616

Veal                  2,337          2,541          2,139

Mutton              16,989        18,535        21,260

Lamb                32,690        33,034        33,157

Pig meat           31,782        31,770        32,834

(Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics)