Australia: Lamb exports reach highest ever

Beef exports were the highest since 2019, lamb exports were up 29% YoY and goat MEAT exports were up 22% to 2,855 tonnes. 

The biggest market for Australian lamb in August was CHINA , with exports up 47% year on year to 7,310 tonnes. At the same time, exports to the United States fell 10% year on year to 6,397 tons. The US  remained the second largest lamb EXPORT market, as it has been all year.

Significant growth occurred in exports to the UK, where year-on-year volumes increased by 174% to 1,045 tonnes. While this significant increase is still relatively small, it shows that exporters are taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the adoption of the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement.

Lamb exports this year have already totaled 205,111 tonnes, up 10% on the same period in 2022, the year exports hit an all-time high. The increase in exports suggests Australia will once again break lamb export records.

102,352 tonnes of beef were exported in August, up 11% year-on-year and the highest monthly export volume since December 2019.

A very large increase in volumes occurred in exports to North America. Exports to the US were up 71% YoY to 25,760 tonnes, while exports to CANADA were up 669% YoY to 3,122 tonnes. As previously noted in the MLA, ongoing US herd reductions have resulted in lower US cattle slaughter , resulting in increased demand for Australian beef to maintain a stable supply.

Exports to other markets have been somewhat mixed. Exports to China rose 3% YoY to 19,991 tonnes, exports to SOUTH KOREA fell 6% YoY to 17,304 tonnes and exports to Japan fell 23% YoY to 14,435 tonnes. Current stock levels of bovine meat in these countries are reported to be very high, so it is likely that some of the 'backlog' stock will have to be cleared before the true demand picture becomes clear.