October 24, 2013

Indonesia will import thousands of heavy cattle from northern Australia this week, as Australia begins to fill order for 75,000 ready-to-slaughter cattle by the end of 2013.

The extra demand from Indonesia and short supply of heavy cattle in the north have pushed prices to US$1.74/kg.

The chair of the Northern Territory (NT) Livestock Exporters Association, Kevin Mulvahil, says that it will be a busy fourth quarter for the live export industry.

Mulvahil added that sourcing heavy cattle is proving a challenge, and stations from across the north are helping to fill shipments.

"The dry conditions in the Territory have made it very difficult to source ready-for-slaughter cattle, so they're coming from deep within Queensland, the Kimberley (Western Australia) and the Northern Territory, and from a fairly wide range of producers."