Australia's cattle exports to Indonesia hits new high in September

Australia's cattle exports to Indonesia have hit a new high, smashing the previous record set in May 2007 by more than 3,000 head.

Demand has been strong so far this year, and it was further boosted by additional cattle requirements for Ramadan. As a result, shipments shot up to 87,732 head in September, with total exports to all markets reaching 115,152 head, the second highest monthly volume on record, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

For the first nine months of 2009, shipments to Indonesia increased 15 percent on-year to 544,637 head, 100,000 head shy of last year's record with still a quarter of the year remaining.

While Australian cattle producers appreciate the sustained demand from Indonesia, concerns about the availability of supply remain, as Northern Australia had suffered floods and drought for the past 18 months.

Strong exports for September were also recorded to the Middle East at 17,613 head, China at 5,950 head, Malaysia at 1,940 head and Japan at 1,505 head.