Cattle Herd To Reach 34-Year High
AUSTRALIA - According to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) recently released Agricultural Commodities, the Australian cattle herd is set to reach a 34-year high in 2011-12, at 30.2 million head.
15 December 2011
1 minute read
ABARES expects herd rebuilding to continue on the back of the better seasonal conditions, with producers retaining breeding stock. With female slaughter expected to decline in 2011-12, total slaughtering are forecast to decline two per cent year-on-year, to 7.9 million head – despite an anticipated increases in male cattle throughput.
Although total slaughter is expected to decline, beef and veal production is expected to remain relatively stable year-on-year, at 2.1 million tonnes – the result of higher average carcase weights.
Strong restocker demand, tight supplies and improved demand from emerging markets are expected to underpin higher saleyard prices in 2011-12. According to ABARES, the weighted saleyard price is expected to average 326¢/kg cwt in 2011-12, 0.9 per cent higher than the previous year.
Total Australian beef and veal exports in 2011-12 are expected to remain relatively steady at 941,000 tonnes swt, with exports to Japan (336,000 tonnes swt) forecast to fall four per cent year-on-year and the US (160,000 tonnes swt) to remain stable over the same period.
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