Australia exported 79,302 cattle in May, marking the highest monthly total for the year to date.

A Vietnamese wet market. Picture: Michael Patching

Figures released by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry show exports to Indonesia in May totalled 44,924 head.

That was lower than March (63,041 head) and April (51,941) but still 10pc higher than the five-year May average to Indonesia.

The big mover in trade terms was exports to Vietnam which increased to 20,726 head, up from 8290 head in April, and 19 percent above the five year average for May.

This is in line with ongoing trend in recent years which has seen exports to Vietnam increase toward the middle of the year as prices decrease in Australia.

Indonesia has just finished celebrating its second major Muslim holiday, Qurban, yesterday.

Export sources say the market traditionally slows after the two annual festive periods of Lebaran and Qurban which are both peak periods of beef consumption.

Demand is reported as having improved this year but still dependent on prices being at more affordable levels for importers than they have been in recent years.

In recent weeks exporters have reported buying feeder steers at around the 300c/kg (ex Darwin) level or a touch lower, which compares to around 360c/kg in the same week last year.

After importers were willing to ship heavy cattle to Indonesia to catch up on supply ahead of Ramadan following the delayed release of 2024 import permits, exporters are reporting that feedlots are now returning to buying more traditional feeder cattle for 100 days on feed.

Another factor contributing to demand for Australian feeder cattle this year has been the dramatic erosion of the Indonesian cattle herd through the Food and Mouth Disease and Lumpy Skin Disease outbreaks in the country, which has reportedly reduced numbers from around 18 million head to 11 million over the past two years.

Other export destinations for May included China (6677 head), Philippines (4463 head – the biggest volume to that market since November 2021), Brunei (1241 head) Malaysia (1178) and Botswana (93 breeding cattle exported by air)

Tomorrow – Update on southern cattle export market