August 12, 2024
Australia's beef export volume reaches record high in July
Australia's beef export volume in July reached an unprecedented monthly record, despite slaughter numbers being approximately 30,000 head per week lower than when the previous record was set during the 2015 drought period, Beef Central reported.
In July, total shipments to all international markets amounted to an impressive 129,998 tonnes. This figure represents a 22 percent increase, or 24,000 tonnes, compared to June, and a 34 percent rise compared to July last year.
The new record surpasses the previous monthly record set in March 2015, when 123,464 tonnes were exported. At that time, nearly 75 percent of exports were frozen beef, indicating a high rate of cow slaughter.
While significant export activity occurred during the 1974-78 beef slump, individual monthly records from that period are not available, as the current monthly dataset only dates to 1994.
For the current calendar year, Australian beef exports have reached 731,408 tonnes, marking a 27 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The record for the first seven months of the year was set in 2015, with exports totalling 768,253 tonnes between January and July, highlighting the recent surge in trade. During the 2015 drought, slaughter and export volumes remained consistently high throughout the first half of the year.
Despite reasonably strong volumes in June this year, at 106,000 tonnes, there was no clear indication that tonnage would surge as it did in July.
July also saw a record for grain-fed beef exports, with a total of 36,976 tonnes, surpassing the previous high set just a month earlier. This increase reflects the gradual rise of grain-fed finishing systems in Australian beef production over the past decade.
- Beef Central
