September 10, 2010

Australia's beef and veal production levelled by better season

Australian beef and veal production reached 189,774 tonnes cwt in July, level with the previous year as slightly lower slaughter numbers were offset by the better season, pushing average carcass weights up to 283kg/head.

Production in Queensland was flat with a year earlier at 101,693 tonnes cwt, but fell 8% in New South Wales (38,800 tonnes cwt) and 10% in Western Australia (8,064 tonnes cwt), driven by similar sized reductions in slaughter.

Production rose 1% to 30,088 tonnes in Victoria despite a 4% fall in slaughter, indicating the much better condition of cattle in the south-east this year. With a similar lift in the season, Southern Australia's production rose 75% on-year to 5,669 tonnes cwt - although at least part of this rise can be attributed to more processors operating through August than a year earlier.

Beef and veal production for the first seven months of the year was 1% lower than 2009 at 1.24 million tonnes cwt, with slaughter was back 4% at 4.4 million head.

Falling slaughter can be attributed to the better season which has enabled producers to hold cattle and finish them for longer on pastures (as evidenced in higher carcass weights). It has also encouraged producers to retain breeding stock and rebuild herds which have been depleted as a result of drought in previous years. Accordingly, female cattle slaughter continued to track lower, back 16% in New South Wales and 19% in Victoria for the year so far, as well as 7% nationally.