Australia will increase beef exports by 160 thousand tons in 2023

In 2023, the Australian beef herd will reach its highest level since 2014 with 28.8 million head, increasing 1.1 million or 4.5% per year. Growth will slow in 2024 and 2025, rising 1.8% and 0.8% respectively to fully mature at 29.6 million head and then taper off in subsequent years, Meat & Livestock Australia said in its projections published this week. . Record retention of females for 15 consecutive months, coupled with above-average weaning rates, has led to an increase in calf production, which bodes well for supplies to increase substantially in 2023, both for replacement cattle as destined for slaughter. Slaughter capacity, affected by the availability of skilled and unskilled labor, will be the key determinant of adult cattle slaughter in 2023. If capacity can be increased through improved labor availability, it is anticipated that slaughter will reach 6.625 million head this year, an increase of 7.7%, or 475,000 head, over current estimates for 2022. But if processors are ...