Australia has cut its beef export forecast for the 2016/17 season by almost 7 percent, with producers curbing cattle slaughter as they seek to rebuild herds from 20-year lows after three years of drought.
Shipments from the world's fourth-largest meat exporter are expected to total 1.025 million tonnes for the season, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture, Resource Economics and Rural Sciences (Abares) said, down from June's forecast of 1.1 million tonnes and down from 1. 17 million tons in the previous year.
Australia will give rival beef exporters a chance to gain market share in big consumers like China, where a rapidly expanding middle class is developing a taste for steaks and burgers.
The decline in Australian exports occurs at a time when South American countries, especially Brazil, are seeking to expand exports to large markets such as China.
For the first time in July, Brazil became the biggest supplier of beef to China, while Australian shipments fell by 45 percent, data from industry body Meat and Livestock Australia showed.
This month, Brazil's Minister of Agriculture, Blairo Maggi, was in Asia on a mission to expand Brazilian exports.
“Brazil will be a big thorn in their (Australia’s) side… China is a price market, due to the average income of Chinese citizens. Considering the value of the Brazilian arroba beef in dollars compared to the Australian arroba in dollars, they should replace Australian beef with Brazilian meat”, said Lygia Pimentel, director of consultancy Agrifatto.
Brazil is the largest global exporter of beef.
(additional reporting by Roberto Samora)
Source: Reuters
