August 18, 2008

Australia's beef and veal exports in July surged by 20 percent on-year to 95,585 tonnes swt due to higher production and increased demand to Japan, CIS and Southeast Asia.

Shipments in July were the sixth highest monthly total on record, according to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

After a slow start to the year, Australian beef exports to Japan have gained pace in recent months, with shipments for July up 13 percent on-year at 35,510 tonnes swt. Contributing to the increase has been strong demand for frozen grassfed manufacturing beef, as Japanese consumers look towards cheaper beef products as the economy slows.

July also saw no respite to the record shipment being sent to CIS (almost all to Russia), with exports for the month reaching 13,389 tonnes swt -  up from only 105 tonnes swt for the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Australian beef exports to the US for July were back 28 percent on-year, at 17,461 tonnes swt, with shipments for January to July falling 35 percent on-year, to their lowest in 12 years (116,682 tonnes swt).

Similarly, shipments to Korea for July also declined 11 percent to 10,016 tonnes swt.