January 18, 2005

Australian Beef Producers Fill 2004 US Beef Export Quota

Australian beef producers ended up filling nearly 98 per cent of the export quota for the US in 2004, despite fears of a shortfall.

These two key factors have worked in exporters' favour:

1.    The Australian industry's resilience after the drought as has been greatly underestimated,  as have also been

       the strength of the US market.

2.    Dynamic export growth in Japan has made the beef trade more attractive for Australian exporters.