Beef production up in February
AUSTRALIA - Australian beef production in February increased 5% on February 2006, to 183,610 tonnes cwt (Australian Bureau of Statistics). Production for the first two months of 2007 is up 12% on the same time last year, to 345,296 tonnes cwt.Beef production in Queensland, Australia’s largest beef producing state, lifted 1% on the same month last year, to 88,207 tonnes cwt – accounting for 48% of total production for the month. NSW beef production also rose 10% on the same period last year, to 38,819 tonnes cwt, while in Victoria, beef production was up 14%, to 33,595 tonnes cwt.
The increase in beef production for the month was driven by a 7% rise in the number of cattle slaughtered, to 683,000 head. The biggest rise in cattle slaughter came from Victoria and NSW, where numbers were up 17% (142,000 head) and 12% (151,000 head), respectively. Queensland slaughter increased 2% on year ago levels to 303,000 head in February.
The rise in cattle slaughter was a result of the ongoing increased turn-off of cattle due to feed and water constraints in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
TheCattleSite News Desk