November 9, 2009
Australian cattle exports to Indonesia record high in September
September was a record month for Australian live cattle exports to Indonesia, smashing the previous monthly high set in May 2007 by more than 3,000 heads.
With already robust demand so far in 2009, the additional cattle requirements for Ramadan pushed shipments to 87,732 heads for the month, with total exports to all markets reaching 115,152 heads – the second highest monthly volume on record, according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
While the sustained demand for Australian cattle from Indonesia has been very valuable for northern Australian cattle producers, concerns continue to surround the available supply of cattle, following flooding and drought across northern Australia during the past 18 months.
For the first nine-months of 2009, shipments to Indonesia were up 15 percent year-on-year, at 544,637 heads – only 100,000 heads shy of last years' record, with still a quarter of the year remaining.
Strong exports for September were also recorded to the Middle East (17,613 heads), China (5,950 heads), Malaysia (1,940 heads) and Japan (1,505 heads).
