Australia: Livestock and Products Annual

Australian beef supply is forecast to make a substantial step towards recovery in 2023 after falling to the lowest level in decades in 2021 and generating only a marginal improvement in 2022. The Australian cattle industry is expected to continue its strong herd rebuild in 2023 but with female slaughter rates rising. Most cattle producers have for the third successive season experienced great pasture conditions and the forecast in the coming months is for well above-average rainfall. With the support of increased female slaughter it is expected that overall cattle slaughter, beef production, and beef exports will all also rise in 2023. Australian pork production is forecast to decline slightly in 2023 after a substantial drop in 2022. Pork producers are being challenged by a combination of high feed grain prices, difficulties in sourcing adequate labor to meet their needs, Japanese Encephalitis Virus infecting pig herds and relatively low pork import prices.