Australian beef exports hit a 19-year low in 2022, dropping to 854,592 t, as reported by Meat & Livestock Australia. This decline is due to a decrease in slaughters rather than a drop in demand. The low numbers are attributed to factors such as high livestock prices, wet conditions, and limited processing capacity because of labor shortages. Rabobank's animal protein analyst, Angus Gidley-Baird, has highlighted labor shortages as a key factor that could limit meat exports and slow down production growth. The expansion of Australia's labor mobility scheme to attract more workers to food processing plants has been announced by the Agriculture Minister, Murray Watt, though industry bodies warn that this could further deplete an already short workforce.