Australian cattle kill is heading for a huge 18% drop in 2016, before a further 10% drop in 2017.
On a recent trip to Japan by AgraKepak’s International Trading Manager Luke Egan and Olga Artemova (Japan Sales) they found Japanese importers are feeling the squeeze on offals but not so far on beef cuts.
“Importers are feeling the pain already on key offal items, such as tongue and thin skirt” said Egan, “but feel that the decrease in the U.S. imports from Australia has balanced out some of the shortage on cuts. As Australia heads into winter and with their currency being quite strong this may change in the coming quarter”.
More than a year on from the first Irish beef shipments reaching the Japanese market since re-opening in December 2013 AgraKepak are seeing real upward demand for Irish beef products.
With Aussie slaughter decline, real growth opportunities exist for other beef producing countries in Japan, China, Philippines, Korea and others.