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Australian beef exports hit record high in 2025
Australian beef exports hit record high in 2025
Dalby, 8 January (Argus) — Australian beef exports in 2025 reached 1.545mn t, surpassing all previous annual totals. This volume is higher than the 1.34mn tonnes exported in 2024 and 1.23mn t in 2019. December exports also set a record at 147,533t, exceeding previous December highs, according to data from Australia's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) released on 7 December. Historically, December and January have been quieter months for beef exports due to public holidays and seasonal plant closures. Quotas and tariff resets for the new calendar year contributed to the rise in December shipments. Favourable seasonal conditions over consecutive years across large parts of the country led to ample cattle supply, record feedlot capacity , increased carcass weights, and strong processing capacity, all supporting the surge in exports. Strong international demand, particularly from the US, was a key driver. Drought conditions and tariffs on Brazilian beef increased US demand for lean beef, making Australian product more competitive. Exports to the US rose 15pc year-on-year to 452,795t in 2025. Strong demand for specific cuts and grain-fed beef drove Australian exports to China in 2025, despite safeguard tariffs and an import probe that caused some subdued trade periods. Australian exports to China totalled 272,939t in 2025, up 41pc from the previous year, keeping Australia among China's leading beef suppliers. China announced a 55pc tariff on beef imports from countries including Australia for shipments exceeding set quotas starting 1 January 2026, raising concerns for future trade. Australian beef exports to South Korea reached 221,350t in 2025, exceeding the 2024 record of 200,545t. Australian beef exports to Japan showed mixed trends in 2025, with monthly fluctuations and economic headwinds affecting trade. Exports to Japan totalled 257,378t in 2025, the first time the annual total exceeded 250,000t since 2020. Australian cattle slaughter totalled 7.18mn head in the year to 12 December 2025, with two weeks of data still to be added, data from Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) show. This exceeds last year's total of 6.7mn head and is the highest total since 2019's 7.37mn head. Jessica Clarke Australian beef exports 2025 t US Japan China South Korea Indonesia Total Dec '25 41,225 22,632 29,878 21,138 7,837 147,533 Nov '25 41,714 24,877 20,345 17,399 5,018 131,705 Dec '24 42,104 18,082 23,860 18,496 5,759 127,393 Dec '23 35,763 19,014 18,399 15,458 4,012 106,724 Dec '22 16,617 16,429 12,950 16,125 2,498 76,118 Dec '21 15,277 16,819 13,805 15,181 2,412 77,058 2025 452,795 257,378 272,939 221,350 66,582 1,545,759 2024 394,543 247,604 193,227 200,545 84,178 1,343,568 2023 245,849 206,802 206,191 188,923 68,387 1,082,405 2022 133,841 214,305 158,086 160,725 39,324 854,592 2021 145,024 233,818 148,357 165,053 45,178 887,679 2020 211,376 269,302 196,696 160,850 47,733 1,039,410 2019 250,980 287,495 300,132 162,343 57,637 1,228,963 Totals include all destinations not just those listed Source: DAFF Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US E15 talks continue as funding crunch looms
US E15 talks continue as funding crunch looms
New York, 7 January (Argus) — Energy groups are still negotiating legislation to expand access to a higher-ethanol gasoline blend and rein in refiners' ability to skirt biofuel mandates, as a looming funding impasse adds urgency to the talks. Negotiations that include the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the ethanol advocates Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association continue, three people familiar with the talks told Argus . The hope is to reach some compromise on a bill that could revamp retail fuel markets in the US and convince lawmakers to add it to a larger package, potentially legislation to fund the government after 30 January. The powerful oil group withdrew support for a slimmer bill last year that would have allowed year-round sales of gasoline with 15pc ethanol (E15) and is pushing instead for a broader package that would make it harder for small refineries to win hardship exemptions from annual biofuel mandates. President Donald Trump's administration granted dozens of those hardship requests last year and floated making companies without exemptions blend more biofuels to compensate , unnerving oil majors and reshuffling the E15 debate. Smog rules separately limit summertime sales of E15 in most of the country without emergency waivers, which advocates say has deterred retailers from investing in new infrastructure. Most US gasoline is sold as a 10pc ethanol blend. The API and the ethanol groups agree on the general framework of a bill that would authorize E15 year-round and limit future exemptions from biofuel mandates, including by preventing larger refiners that own small units like Delek and Par Pacific from requesting relief. The groups plan to support adding new exemption provisions to existing E15 bill text rather than push lawmakers to scrap that draft, two people familiar with the talks said. But there are still thorny issues to resolve — such as the effective date for any changes — and some provisions risk riling energy and farm interests otherwise on board with reining in exemptions. Adding to, rather than replacing, the current E15 bill would, for instance, keep a provision effectively compensating some small refineries for past biofuel mandates. That draft would return compliance credits to certain refiners and — unlike current rules where credits expire — allow their use in future years. Even small facilities can spend tens of millions of dollars each year buying enough credits to comply with the mandates, and returned credits usable indefinitely would be even more valuable. Eligibility is limited to small refineries that retired credits to meet biofuel mandates in 2016, 2017 or 2018 and had hardship petitions outstanding to start December 2022, as well as companies that complied with 2018 quotas and had petitions denied before July 2022. EPA exemption data those years is limited, making it unclear which companies would benefit. Calling on Congress The groups working on revised bill text have another challenge: convincing Congress to act. Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association and dozens of other farm and biofuel groups urged Congress to pass some E15 fix "as soon as possible" in a joint letter to House and Senate leaders on Wednesday, a nod to the looming deadline to fund the government before a potential shutdown later this month. E15 legislation is unlikely to pass on its own, so lobbyists are closely tracking the legislative calendar for opportunities to add it to larger packages. The letter does not mention the API talks, which are proceeding separately. Small refiners worried about losing access to relief — at the same time as the Trump administration readies what could be record-high biofuel quotas for the next two years — will also press sympathetic lawmakers. Notably, a statement accompanying a bipartisan appropriations bill draft released this week recommends that EPA rethink "policies and procedures" for exemptions in response to a 2022 Government Accountability Office analysis that criticized the agency's approach. That watchdog report questioned EPA's argument that small refineries can easily pass on the costs of meeting biofuel mandates in fuel sales. Energy lobbyists noted that the statement's recommendations are nonbinding and that similar language around exemptions has appeared in past statements accompanying appropriations bills. But it signals that some members of Congress might oppose any changes to fuel policy that could raise costs for refineries in their districts and states. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Movimentação de carga sobe nos portos do Paraná
Movimentação de carga sobe nos portos do Paraná
Sao Paulo, 7 January (Argus) — A movimentação de carga nos portos de Paranaguá e Antonina, no Paraná, subiu em dezembro com o aumento das exportações de milho e soja. Os dois portos movimentaram cerca de 5,9 milhões de toneladas (t) de carga em dezembro, alta de 28,5pc ante o mesmo mês de 2024. As exportações totalizaram cerca de 3,6 milhões de t no mês, alta de 66,3pc em relação ao mesmo mês de 2024. Os embarques de milho subiram para 522.500t em dezembro, comparados às 58.300t exportadas em 2024. As exportações de soja atingiram 923.832t, ante 202.295t embarcadas em dezembro de 2024. As importações ficaram em 2,3 milhões de t, uma queda de 5pc em relação às quase 2,4 milhões de t importadas um ano antes. As importações de fertilizantes caíram 14pc, para 1 milhão de t, em comparação com quase 1,2 milhão de t em 2024. Volumes sobem em 2025 Os portos do Paraná movimentaram 73,5 milhões de t em 2025, um aumento de 10,1pc em relação às quase 66,8 milhões de t de 2024 e um recorde na história dos portos. As exportações subiram 15,1pc em 2025 ante o ano anterior, atingindo quase 46,1 milhões de t. Os embarques de milho totalizaram 5,1 milhões de t, comparado com 1,1 milhão de t em 2024. As exportações de soja subiram 11pc, para 14,7 milhões de t. As importações subiram 2,6pc em 2025, para cerca de 27,4 milhões de t, comparadas ao ano anterior. As importações de fertilizantes totalizaram cerca de 11,6 milhões de t, alta de 4pc em relação ao ano passado. Os números de novembro foram divulgados com atraso. No mês, os portos movimentaram 6,4 milhões de t, um aumento de 9pc em relação ao mesmo mês de 2024. Por Gisele Augusto Envie comentários e solicite mais informações em feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . Todos os direitos reservados.
Australia pledges $26mn for flooded cattle regions
Australia pledges $26mn for flooded cattle regions
Sydney, 7 January (Argus) — The federal and Queensland state government have committed an additional A$38mn ($25.7mn) in a disaster support package for flood-affected communities across northwest Queensland in a bid to support recovery and moderate cattle loss. More than half of the package — or A$21.5mn — will take the form of disaster recovery grants of up to A$75,000 for farmers affected by the floods. An additional investment of A$5mn was committed to the region's co-ordinated emergency fodder support package to help keep cattle stock fed in the local government areas of Carpentaria, Cloncurry, Flinders, McKinlay, Richmond and Winton, according to a joint statement by the state and federal government. The grants and emergency fodder package aim to prevent cattle losses, support cattle replacement and repair damaged infrastructure, which could ease the impact further down in the supply chain. The flood affected regions are important for grazing weaner and feeder cattle, which often are fed in feedlots and processed at greater weights in the southeast of the state. Livestock losses were reported at 24,200 head as of early 7 January but are expected to increase significantly as floodwater recedes and producers report further losses, according to a spokesperson for the department of primary industries. By Edward Dunlop Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

