Australia’s beef exports to China have increased by a factor of five over the last two months, as producers look beyond traditional markets.
Australia exported 7500 tonnes of beef to China in October, 4000 tonnes in September and 1500 in August, Queensland Country Life reports.
Previous exports levelled at around 500 to 1000 tonnes a month, and Meat and Livestock Association chief economist Tim McRae said a tightening protein supply in China was part of the reason for the increase.
“Supply has tightened up in their own production systems and also some product that they typically source from other countries has tightened up and that’s got them looking for additional product,” he said.
McRae said many Australian producers and analysts had been caught off-guard by the increased demand, and MLA analysts were “watching the market closely” to gauge whether more expansion was needed.
But McRae said while higher exports were good news for Australian producers, the industry was still waiting for China to demand higher quality product.
“Ultimately what we would like to see develop in that market, which we are not seeing happen yet, would be for them to take some higher quality product,” he said.