Australia’s cattle herd to drop to 25-year low - leatherbiz: Leading n Leatherbiz

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Australia’s cattle herd to drop to 25-year low

31/01/2019
Australia’s national beef cattle herd is expected to fall to its lowest level since the mid-1990s this year, according to the latest projections from promotions agency Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA).

The organisation expects the national herd to decrease to 26.2 million head by mid-2019 due to ongoing dry conditions across many of the country’s key cattle production areas. This would represent a fall of 3.8%.

“A significant turnaround in conditions is needed before rebuilding can recommence,” explained Scott Tolmie, MLA’s market intelligence manager.

Cattle slaughter is forecast to drop by 3% to 7.6 million head in 2019 as a result of the continual reduction in the size of the breeding herd and the potential pool of available finished cattle. 

This has obvious implications for beef production. MLA expects it to decline 4% to 2.2 million tonnes carcass weight in 2019. Average carcass weights are expected to drop to 289 kilogrammes per head.

Mr Tolmie revealed that Australia exported 1.13 million tonnes of beef in 2018, making it the third largest year on record. MLA is forecasting a decline of 6% to 1.06 million tonnes this year. 

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