Red meat exports continue to strengthen
06 July 2023
Key points:
- In June, red meat exports jumped 24% from June last year to 160,393 tonnes.
- Beef exports rose by 18% to 94,009 tonnes, while lamb rose 15% to 28,646 tonnes and mutton rose 74% to 17,575 tonnes.
- China was the largest market overall, taking in 35,251 tonnes of Australian exports.
Australian red meat exports continued the trend of steady growth in June, with overall exports now surpassing volumes last seen in 2020.
Beef
Beef exports rose by 18% from June 2022 to 94,009 tonnes, with volumes drawing close to 2020 levels.
This has been largely driven by exports to the United States (US), which rose 89% year-on-year to 20,584 tonnes. Exports to China and Indonesia also rose by 40% and 43% respectively, while exports to Japan fell by 16% and exports to South Korea grew by 3%.
As a result, the US is now Australia’s largest beef export market for the first time in three years. Higher exports to the US are likely to continue as American domestic production continues to slow, offering an important market for Australian beef as our production grows.
Lamb and mutton
Sheepmeat exports rose by 32%, as lamb exports recorded their strongest month since 2019 (rising 15% to 28,646 tonnes) and mutton exports rose by 74% to their strongest June on record (17,757 tonnes).
Growth was especially strong in China and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where exports rose 92% and 86% respectively. In particular, mutton exports to China rose 165% year-on-year to 8,757 tonnes, or almost half of total exports.
These year-on-year changes are impressive given that 2022 was a very strong year for Australian sheepmeat exports already; lamb exports in 2022 were the highest on record, and for sheepmeat overall only 2018 and 2019 were larger.
Exports to the United Kingdom (UK)
June was the first month of the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement, and exports to the UK rose sharply (albeit from a very low base).
Lamb exports rose 102% to 687 tonnes, beef exports rose 264% to 273 tonnes and mutton exports rose 679% to 488 tonnes.
Promisingly, the meat exported to the UK looks ‘premium’ relative to average exports. Overall, international beef and lamb exports were 26% chilled in June, but in the UK that figure jumped to 52%. Similarly, 48% of the beef exported to the UK was grainfed, compared to 29% overall.
