August 29, 2011

Japan's beef demand remains slow

Imported beef had slow movements this week, as the radiation scare continued to have impact on consumers' appetite for beef, on the back of the late summer heat, and subdued spending after the holiday season, the Japanese wholesale trade noted.

Chilled Australian wholesale beef prices this week were steady on last week, but approximately 6-15% higher compared with the same time last year, reflecting the high Australian dollar.

In contrast, most US beef wholesale prices fell around 3% to 12% on-year, due to the increased availability of US product and the weak US dollar.

Australian chilled shortfed striploin traded around RMB1,450/kg (US$227.08) this week (up 10% on-year), while the US choice grade steak-ready (striploin) averaged RMB1,825/kg (US$285.8) (down 12%).

In the Australian beef market, exporters were bound by firm cattle prices and sluggish interest from Japan, resulting in reduced operations at some meat packing facilities. With export shipments to Japan only reaching 20,087 tonnes as at August 22(DAFF), August volumes may decline on-year again, following the significant fall (down 28%) in July.