Australia reports rise in beef exports

Australian beef exports reached almost 82,000t in September 2011, up 8% year-on-year, according to new data published by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The exports for the first nine months of 2011 totalled 693,570t, up 1% compared with last year, despite tough export conditions for Australian beef since April due to the high Australian dollar, the sluggish global economy and increased competition from US beef in Japan.

Trade to Korea continues to exceed last year volumes, with shipments in September increasing by 29% to 12,115t, compared with the same period in 2010, and exports for the first nine months totalling 109,183t, up 21%.

Beef exports to Russia increased 30% year-on-year to 7,111t, with exports for the first nine months up 63% to 46,365t.

While shipments to Japan increased by 2% to 28,330t in September, exports for the first nine months were down 6% and totalled 248,718t.

Beef exports to the US decreased 9% in September to 12,533t, due to the higher Australian dollar and increased competition from other markets such as Russia and south-east Asia.