November 13, 2013

Australia's October lamb exports reached a record monthly high of 20,825 tonnes, up 12% on-year, while beef and veal exports jumped 11% to 104,074 tonnes, with shipments exceeding "the once seemingly unreachable 100,000-tonne barrier" for the third month this year.

"(They) are going to smash it - it's just a matter of by how much," Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) chief market analyst Tim McRae said this week.

McRae said beef exports were tracking about 15% above last year's record 963,799 tonnes.

Earlier in the year MLA forecast 2013 beef exports at 995,000 tonnes. McRae said with dry conditions across northern Australia and parts of New South Wales (NSW) "more cattle are being killed at lower prices which is keeping product more competitive in overseas markets".

Year-to-date cattle slaughter numbers are about 900,000 head above this time last year, he said. Increased slaughter rates are expected to continue until widespread rain is received across northern Australia.

McRae said China was expected to leapfrog Korea as Australia's third-biggest beef market this year while Japan was "still doing it tough" due to weaker consumer demand.

Southern NSW beef producer Marc Greening, of Book Book, said that for those that had maintained females herds, rainfall would send the market "berserk".

Australian Lot Feeders Association chief executive Dougal Gordon said demand for grain-fed cattle was holding up well in China, the EU and the Middle East, as well as the more traditional markets of Japan, Korea and the US.