October 17, 2023

 

Australia's live cattle export prices to Indonesia on decline

 

 

Australia's live cattle export prices to Indonesia are falling, with feeder steers shipped from Darwin fetching around $2.60 a kilogramme compared to a peak of $5.50 a kilogramme in 2022.

 

This means a 350kg steer which was worth around $1,900 in March last year is now valued at just over $900. The price has not been this low since the sudden price slump in 2020 triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Garry Riggs from Lakefield Station in the Northern Territory, said he put together a consignment of "blemish-free cattle", only to be offered $2.60 a kilo, which for him was not enough.

 

"I just told my agent we're going to bush these cattle and try again next year when hopefully everything settles down," he said. "It's surprising how quickly the price has come back.

 

Riggs said the low prices and uncertainty of where to send cattle was "like being back in the live export ban [of 2011]".

 

"We've got good quality cattle and some of them are getting blocked because of a skin blemish or scratch," he said.

 

Indonesia's request for imported Australian cattle to be free of skin blemishes may have started due to genuine concerns around lumpy skin disease, but it remains in place despite Australia not having the disease.

 

Meanwhile, data from Meat and Livestock Australia shows year to date, Indonesia has imported 52,000 tonnes of beef from Australia, which is up 76% year-on-year.

 

There is also increasing amounts of cheaper, frozen Indian buffalo meat entering the Indonesian market, with expectations that India will export more than 100,000 tonnes this year.

 

ABC Landline has been told several exporters are now looking to source cattle via the Townsville Port where the cattle are cheaper than the Northern Territory — around $2.20 to $2.40 a kilogramme.

 

In the north of Western Australia, Kimberley cattle producer David Stoate said there are not many shipments on the horizon.

 

"I've got cattle that I'm hoping to get on a boat before the wet season starts, but there's limited opportunities from the Kimberley," he said. "The trade to Indonesia is open, it's just slower than normal and it's very challenging."

 

He said the risk of bushfires ahead of the wet season is adding a lot of stress to producers who have been forced to hold onto cattle.

 

- ABC News