August 14, 2007

Australian Q2 beef output down 1.9 percent from Q1 to 543,466 tonnes
 

Beef production in Australia, a major global exporter, fell 1.9 percent on-quarter in the calendar second quarter to a trend estimate of 543,466 tonnes, but was up 2.3 percent on-year, the government's Bureau of Statistics reported Tuesday (Aug 14).

During the second quarter, the number of cattle slaughtered, excluding calves, totalled 2.05 million, down 1.0 percent on-quarter but up 4.6 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)

                       Q2 2007     Q1 2007     Q2 2006

Beef                 543,466     553,826      531,275

Veal                 7,743         7,871          6,993

Mutton              60,965       67,167        65,154

Lamb                102,261     103,541      98,826

Pig meat           95,718       95,770        95,736

(Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics)