November 27, 2003

Australia May Double Its Cattle Exports To China
 

Australian exports of live dairy cattle to China could double next year, following an agreement for Australia to become preferred supplier, Australia's industry body LiveCorp said yesterday.

In 2004, it is estimated that Australia may be capable of exporting 50,000 head of dairy cattle to China, which marks a more than double increase from the present 23,000 head per year, LiveCorp chief executive officer Kevin Shiell said in a statement.

Shiell said, "The export of live dairy heifers to China will increase significantly as Australia is now China's preferred supplier under the recently signed quality assurance memorandum between the Holstein-Friesian Association of Australia and the China National Dairy Association."

This increase in cattle exports is fuelled by China's growing demand for dairy production, with the Australian heifers expected to add to foundation stock for China's dairy industry.

Shiell commented that the launch of the school milk program by the Chinese government in 1999 had been very successful, delivering 600,000 packages of milk to students in 2,000 schools a day.

Australia exports A$1 billion (US$720 million) worth of livestock annually, with live cattle headed mainly to east Asia and live sheep to the Middle East.