Australia: Cattle slaughter will fall in April

In April 2017, bovine slaughter in the eastern states of Australia was 430,549 HEAD, and slaughter in 2017 reached 7.16 million head. This is 7%, or 496,000 heads, above the 2023 slaughter forecast of 6.66 million heads, suggesting April 2023 monthly slaughter is likely to remain below April 2017 levels.

In 2022, the average weekly slaughter rate for the four weeks of April was 83,492 heads, 5% less than the previous four weeks of March. Slaughter volumes in the first four months of 2022 were significantly affected by logistics, throughput issues and flooding.

However, looking at April 2017, slaughter rates are down 15% or 20,000 head compared to the previous four weeks. During May, the average weekly slaughter increased by 21% or 23,000 heads, indicating a significant increase in productivity after a shortened working period in April and exceeding figures not affected before early April.

Historical data indicates that the weekly slaughter volume in April 2023 could average around 96,000 heads. This suggests a 12% decrease from the average over the past four weeks.  

After the end of April, slaughter rates in the Eastern states could potentially rise above the current 2023 weekly average of 96,000 heads, as they did in 2017.