Australian beef exports hit a record high in January, with volumes of chilled and frozen beef surpassing the previous high set in January 2020, the Australian Department of Agriculture said.
Beef exports reached 81,049t in January 2025, a rise from 75,585t in January 2024 and slightly more than the previous high of 79,221t exported in January 2020. This comes on the back of strong exports in December 2024.
Processors typically engage in capacity rebuilding in January after the Christmas holiday break for abattoir staff. Throughput is typically weighed down by weaker cattle availability across northern Australia over the monsoon season in November-April. But exports in January 2025 remained strong despite the challenges, with processing throughput reaching a high of 140,908 heads in the week to 24 January. Exporters took advantage of robust global prices and the availability of cattle because of dry conditions in southern Australia and a late wet season across Queensland and the Northern Territory.
The majority of exports in January were sent to the US, accounting for 24,685t or 30pc of total global exports. This is a rise from the 20,308t the US imported in January 2024. Imports to the west coast ports of the US more than doubled compared with a year earlier, reaching 7,112t.
Demand from the US was strong, particularly the demand for lean trim, as a result of a domestic production shortage caused by a declining cattle herd. This has pushed up prices for Australian lean trim, with prices for 85CL nearing A$9.50/kg and Bull 95CL surpassing A$10.50/kg, Argus data show. Demand and prices will likely remain steady throughout 2025 because the US cattle herd has yet to begin rebuilding, market participants said.
Exports of chilled and frozen beef to Japan and Korea have slightly decreased on the year in January to 15,806t and 10,596t respectively, down by less than 10pc from a year earlier. Higher prices for fatty trim, coupled with weaker local economies, have weighed on Asian demand for Australian beef. But imports to China rose in January 2025 compared with a year earlier, with 15,315t shipped for the month after active buying in December.
Exports to other countries including the EU, Canada, Thailand and Dubai also increased in January 2025 compared with a year earlier, on the back of record high volumes of beef production in Australia in 2024.
