MLA revises cattle slaughter forecast for 2018
03/05/2018
In the latest update of its Cattle Industry Projections, MLA said it expects 7.48 million head of cattle to be slaughtered this year, which would represent an increase of 4% compared to 2017.
MLA’s market intelligence manager, Scott Tomlie, said poor rainfall across many cattle regions since the start of 2018 had temporarily subdued herd rebuilding. He added that both male and female slaughter is running well above 2017 levels and that the “largely neutral weather outlook” has led MLA to make this slight upward revision to its forecast.
Mr Tolmie also explained that there has been a strong start to the year for carcass weights in Australia, with the year-to-February national average carcass weight sitting at 301 kilogrammes, five kilogrammes higher than for the same period of 2017.
He issued a warning that the growing volume of exports from the US and some South American countries would place “some downward pressure” on the finished cattle market.
“Beef production and consumption levels in the United States will need to be closely monitored, with a significant lift in grain-fed cattle kills expected in coming months, which is likely to flow through to increased competition in our key export markets,” Mr Tolmie said.
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