January 24, 2006

Australia's frozen beef imports to China fell 73 percent in 2005
 

Australia's frozen beef imports to China are down while demand for chilled beef went up in 2004, according to Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA).

In the 11 months to November 2005, Chinese beef imports fell 68 percent on 2004 levels, to 1,080 tonnes, with imports of frozen beef down 73 percent..

The fall in imports was largely due to the reduced volumes of beef imported for the fast food sector. The high price of imported beef was unable to compete with China's product which has apparently improved in quality.

However, imports of chilled beef increased 25 percent to reach 228 tonnes in 2004 with increased demand for chilled beef coming from the gourmet foodservice.

Australia's share of the beef import market in China has risen to 97 percent, compared with 62 percent in 2004. The absence of competitors such as the US, Canada and Brazil and a fall in imports from New Zealand greatly contributed to the increased market share, according to MLA.