July 8, 2011

Australian beef exports to Japan rise despite tough market conditions

The difficult trading conditions currently facing Australian exporters to Japan was masked by the 14% increase in Australian beef exports to Japan during June, to 31,609 tonnes swt.

The growth in volumes during the month was strongly supported by frozen beef shipments, up 21% from last year and the highest since November 2010, to 19,307 tonnes swt.

The result reflected the current market conditions in Japan of firm demand for lower value items, particularly from the fast food sector, on the back of soft interest for Australian beef from other international markets.

While chilled beef exports to Japan also lifted 5% from June 2010 to 12,301 tonnes swt, the robust Australian dollar and the price competitiveness of the US beef due to the weak US dollar severely challenged Australian exporters, reducing their returns.

Having seen the relatively large shipments from Australia in June and the stronger Australian dollar, Japanese importers were not in a hurry to finalise their buying in the Australian beef export market this week.

The wholesale trade in Japan also remained slow, with reportedly high stocks in the market, both imported and domestic, and the rainy season continuing in most regions.