AUSTRALIA’S June beef exports continued their recent surge, although volume was down a little on the extraordinary May shipments seen a month earlier.

Last month saw beef shipments to all export markets total 106,128 tonnes, down about 6pc from May tonnage – but its worth remembering the May figure was in fact the highest monthly number seen since Australia’s drought-driven turnoff frenzy in 2019.

For the full half-year (calendar year to date), Australian exports have now reached 601,400t – a massive 26pc rise over the same January-June period last year (478,380t).

Production obstacles appears to have been behind the moderate decline in export tonnage seen last month.

• Fewer processing working days during June may have been a factor. June for many processors included only 19 working days (southern states public holidays included), while May offered as many as 23 working days, because of the way the calendar fell.
• There were also some significant breakdowns recorded in three large Queensland beef processing plants during June, further limiting northern output.
• The customary mid-winter shortage of stock in southern Australia also played a part. According to last week’s National slaughter report, Queensland (northern) accounted for 52pc of the national adult cattle slaughter.
• Reefer container access challenges during June, and indeed rising container shipping costs, may have also kept some quantity of beef at home.

Most of Australia’s larger volume markets showed a moderate reduction in tonnage last month, in line with overall export output, however the United States continued to stand out.

Exports to east and west coast US ports last month totalled 28,746t, down 8pc from the extreme figure of +31,000t in May, but still 40pc higher than June last year. Persistently higher than anticipated rates of slaughter in the US have perhaps kept a cap on US imported demand, as has bigger volumes of Brazilian trimmings and cuts coming into the market.

For the calendar year to date, the US has now taken 155,430t of Australian beef, up 75pc on January-June last year when volume reached just over 89,000t. The end of the NZ dairy slaughter season may see some further rise in Australian manufacturing beef interest from the US over the next month or two, over the remaining northern hemisphere summer grilling season. See this earlier summary of imported manufacturing beef prices into the US.

Second largest export customer Japan continued to buy strongly in June, accounting for 25,611t, virtually the same as May, but 36pc higher than June last year. Part of that is clearly attributed to tightening US export supply into Japan and Korea.

For the past six months, Japan has taken 133,900t of Australian chilled and frozen beef, some 31,000t or 31pc higher than last year – again, driven in part by limited US imported supply.

Korea imported 16,088t of Australian beef last month, a modest 6pc decline on the previous month in line with the overall export beef shipment trend, but still 11pc higher than June last year. Six-month trade has reached 89,466t, up 3pc on the first half in 2023.

China’s current economic challenges continue to be reflected in Australian beef imports, with June shipments from Australia reaching 13,206t, down 14pc on the previous month, and a dramatic 33pc below June last year. Year-to-date volume to China shows a similar path, with tonnage reaching 89,795t (90pc of which was in frozen form), down 9pc on last year.

Among secondary and emerging export markets, Indonesia continued to buy Australian beef at historically strong volumes, albeit a little lower than in May. Last month’s trade reached 5325t, down 22pc on the previous month, but only 9pc behind this time last year. Six month volume has reached 33,518t, up 7pc on the same period last year.

Trade remains modest into the Middle East region of seven countries, totalling 2948t last month, down 8pc on May trade, but 25pc higher than June last year. First half volume has now reached 17,974t, up 42pc from last year.

In the absence of any active Free Trade Agreement with Australia, shipments into the European Union remain very flat, with only 649t traded during June, up 21pc from an even lower 572t this time last year. The first six months of 2024 have seen trade reach only 3825t, still up 21pc on last year.

Canada remains a surprise packet for Australian beef exports this year, perhaps partly because of the numbers of Canadian live feeder cattle and beef shipments being pushed into the US market this year. Australian shipments to Canada last month reached 1677t, up 24pc on last year, while the past six months has seen volume total 12,706t, up an incredible 143pc on the same period last year.