Australian Beef Exports to South Asia Hit Record Levels
AUSTRALIA - Australian beef and veal and sheep meat exports to South Asia (excluding China) during May totalled 19,605 tonnes – up 25 per cent year-on-year and the second highest monthly volume after 19,959 tonnes in December 2009, according to figures from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
17 June 2013
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Meat and Livestock Australia said that the historically high monthly exports to the region were assisted by record beef shipments, at 14,800 tonnes (up 15 per cent year-on-year), along with strong demand for sheep meat, at 4,805 tonnes – up 73 per cent year-on-year.
Underpinning the highest beef exports on record during May was increased volumes to most countries within the region, except for Hong Kong (down 17 per cent year-on-year, to 442 tonnes ) and Singapore (down 13 per cent year-on-year, at 1,402 tonnes ).
In contrast, MLA said that exports to the Philippines and Malaysia totalled 2,821 tonnes swt (up 39 per cent year-on-year) and 2,166 tonnes (up 82 per cent, also the highest monthly volume), respectively.
Australian chilled beef exports to Malaysia have steadily increased in recent years, with the volume during the first five months of 2013 reaching 663 tonnes – up 25 per cent on the same period last year.
Shipments to Taiwan during May improved five per cent year-on-year, at 3,928 tonnes.
However, total exports during the first five months were still three per cent lower than the corresponding period of 2012, at 13,925 tonnes, with a 25 per cent drop in chilled beef exports (at 1,685 tonnes) largely due to the increasing presence of US beef, MLA analysts said.
In the lead up to Ramadan, exports to Indonesia also rose during May, at 3,615 tonnes (up six per cent year-on-year), with higher demand for striploins, at 399 tonnes (up 262 per cent year-on-year). Exports to Thailand and Vietnam lifted to 211 tonnes (up 64 per cent year-on-year) and 215 tonnes (up five per cent year-on-year), respectively.
Increased sheep meat exports during May were largely driven by a rise in shipments to Malaysia (up 155 per cent year-on-year, to 1,614 tonnes), Singapore (up 22 per cent, to 941 tonnes) and Hong Kong (up 87 per cent, to 846 tonnes).
Mutton exports to Malaysia during May were 989 tonnes (up 663 per cent year-on-year), with the volume to Singapore totalling 797 tonnes (up 43 per cent). While mutton shipments to Hong Kong jumped from only 6 tonnes in May 2012 to 369 tonnes in May 2013, lamb exports were up 7 per cent year-on-year, to 477 tonnes.
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