Aussie beef remains the king of food service

AUSTRALIAN beef's supremacy in food service channels appears to have been a key factor in keeping exports ticking over during some of the toughest pandemic times last year. The just-released December red meat export figures from the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment show beef shipments did lift slightly in the last month to see the annual total for last year sit at 887,679 tonnes shipping weight. That was down on the 1,039,411 tonnes exported in 2020 and close to 20 per cent under the five-year average. However, against a backdrop of heavily reduced cattle supply at home and ongoing COVID disruptions, it was above what most were forecasting during the year. More than half of Australia's beef exports for the year, or 499,563t came out of Queensland and the chilled beef tonnage total was 263,562t, down from 301,947t in 2020. ALSO SEE:Who will speak for the grass-fed cattle producer? One of the world's strongest economies, Japan, retained its crown as top customer. ...