February 6, 2023

 

Australia exported 51,471 tonnes of chilled, frozen beef in January

 

 

 

New season Australian beef exports are off to a slow start, with just 51,471 tonnes of chilled and frozen beef shipped for January, Department of Agriculture records show.

 

Historically, January is the slowest month each year for overseas beef trade, as many large export processing plants are closed for the Christmas/New Year holidays and annual maintenance over the early/mid January period.

 

As herd recovery continues to gain momentum, production volume last month was noticeably up on the same period last year, and this trend is also seen in a modest improvement in January beef export volume.

 

While still modest, January's tonnage at 51,471 tonnes was up around 18% on January 2022, when herd rebuilding was still in full swing, keeping slaughter cattle supply very tight. The year before, January's volume was 49,604 tonnes, still 4% behind last month's tally.

 

The largest export market, Japan, took just 11,954 tonnes of Australian beef in January, down almost 4,500 tonnes or 27% from December trade. January last year saw trade even lower at 10,200 tonnes, but Japan was still battling COVID at that time and had not opened its border to international visitors. January 2021 saw exports to Japan reach 12,451 tonnes, 4% higher than last month.

 

January exports to China reached 10,556 tonnes, ranking the country second among major customers for the month, just ahead of South Korea. In January last year, it took 8,780 tonnes of Australian beef, representing a 20% lift this year.

 

South Korea remained a steady, reliable customer for Australian beef in January, accounting for 10,125 tonnes, down from 16,125 tonnes in December, but up about 8% on January last year.

 

The United States continues to buy Australian beef at only very low levels, accounting for 8,952 tonnes in January.

 

In secondary markets, there was some improvement from January last year when Australian cattle supply was still extremely tight.

 

Indonesia took 1,899 tonnes of mostly frozen beef last month – a 23% rise from January last year.

 

The Middle East region remained subdued, due mostly to heavy price competition from South American exports, taking only 1,796 tonnes of Australian beef for the month, but still up 18% year-on-year.

 

In the absence of active trade agreements currently being negotiated, the European Union took only 540 tonnes of Australian beef last month, while the United Kingdom accounted for just 47 tonnes.

 

Meat & Livestock Australia's recent 2023 Industry Projections suggested Australian beef production will reach 2.087 million tonnes in 2023, a marginal increase on the 2022 estimates. Despite carcass weights softening in the 2024 forecast, they are expected to remain above the long-term average and, in line with higher slaughter rates, will see production reach 2.2mt, MLA said. This is a 13% increase on 2022 estimates.

- Beef Central