Beef demand to rise, but Australian beef exports to decline

The USDA has forecast global beef production to lift to 61.5 million tonnes carcase weight equivalent (cwe), an increase of 2% on 2020 levels. Brazil, India and the US will lead the global beef production growth in 2021.

In contrast, production levels in Australia and Argentina are expected to contract as producers across both nations look to rebuild herd numbers after significant periods of de-stocking. As in Australia, Argentina has struggled with drought through the past few years, which has resulted in elevated slaughter levels throughout 2019 and 2020.

While Australia accounted for approximately 16% of global beef traded in 2019, the USDA forecast this to drop to 13% this upcoming 2021.