Australian Beef Exports

 

Brief Beef History

            The Beef Industry in Australia has a reputation of producing high quality beef.  It had its beginnings in 1788 when the first herd of cattle was brought into the country to aid in in its development.  Unfortunately, they escaped and was scattered but their numbers grew rapidly until cattle farming became commercial. In 1850, the demand for beef increased as the gold rushes in Australia became rampant.  Today, the total number of livestock in Australia is at 28 million head spread across 200 million hectares of land.  This number is relatively minimal on a global scale but Australian Beef exports are at 60 percent of total production.  This places the Australian beef exports at the second largest beef exporter behind Brazil.

Key Facts and Points

·         Total Herd Size                       - 28 million head

·         Beef Exports                           - $5 billion

·         Live Exports                           -$600 billion

·         Total Export (%)                     - 60 per cent

·         Number of Cattle Producers   - 40,000

·         Largest destination market for Australian Beef Exports are

1.      Korea

2.      Japan

3.      America

·         Australian beef exports come from a variety of breeds depending on market specification and how they handle climatic conditions and these are:

1.      Bos Indicus breed – Brahman

2.      Bos Indicus breed – Santa Gertrudis

3.      Bos Taurus breed – British Angus

4.      Bos Taurus breed – Hereford

5.      French Charolais

·         Australian beef exports have more advantage in the fact that the produce is traceable and it has decease free status which gives the beef industry a strong competitive advantage in the world market.

The Australian beef industry is distributed between the northern and southern production system.  Southern production has the more disparate and fragmented farm ownerships while the northern production is predominantly corporate owned. In addition, cattle produced in the south is of the European and British breeds which produce favorable quality meat and are typically exported to high value markets. Cattle in the northern part on the other hand are processed and sent to the US to be used as hamburger meat.

 

Challenges and the future

            There is an increasing demand for protein and Australia’s beef industry is more than capable in meeting the demands of the market.   Australian beef exports have a clean and green image and the industry’s significant investments in efficiency and productivity improvement in the field of genetics, pastures and marketing ensures a bright future for the Australian Beef industry.  Furthermore, this also results in the industry being able to maintain profitability and will allow it to embrace and capitalize on the opportunities that will in the upcoming years. 

The OZ supplier website provides a list of the Australian Beef Industry’s major players and suppliers. Please click here if you wish to contact a company in the in the Beef Industry.