September 3, 2007

Australian July beef output up by 3.2 percent

Beef production in Australia rose 3.2 percent in July to 177,923 tonnes from 172,359 tonnes in June, the government's Bureau of Statistics reported Friday (August 31).

The total number of cattle slaughtered, excluding calves, in July was 646,500 beasts, up 0.6 percent on month and up 0.9 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.

                    AUSTRALIAN MEAT PRODUCTION

       (seasonally-adjusted metric tonnes, carcass weight)

                     July 07      June 07      July 06

Beef              177,923     172,359      177,796

Veal               2,524        2,337        2,429

Mutton           15,781      16,989       19,989

Lamb             33,550      32,690       34,250

Pork              32,319      31,782       32,202

(Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics)