Australian red meat exports hit record highs last year, with 2.24 million tonnes sent overseas.
Meat & Livestock Australia Global Market Insights Manager Miho Kondo said the United States was the largest importer of Australian red meat by volume last year, importing 394,716 tonnes of beef and 85,133 tonnes of lamb.
“In 2024, Australia exported 2.24 million tonnes of red meat to 102 markets, representing the largest volume of red meat ever exported,” Ms Kondo said.
She said the success in the United States was due to a domestic supply shortage there.
“American consumers are some of the largest consumers of red meat in the world, but the American cattle herd reached a more than seven-decade low following years of drought (and) this created opportunities for imported beef suppliers such as Australia.”
Ms Kondo said consumer preference had also been diversifying in the US, and the past year consistently saw double digit growth for grassfed beef.
“The US was also the largest market for lamb, with more restaurants across different foodservice segments adopting lamb to cater to growing interest in lamb when dining out.”
Ms Kondo said Australian red meat exports to mainland China rebounded after a slow start in 2024, with Chinese consumers more cautious in their discretionary spending.
“China’s affluent consumer base is forecast to continue to expand, along with growing appreciation for premium red meat products, providing a great opportunity for Australian red meat.”
She said Japan was the second largest beef export market for Australia in 2024.
“However, the proportion of lower value products increased, impacted by sticky inflation, a weakened Yen and slow real wage growth continuing to weigh on Japanese consumer spending.”
Ms Kondo said a significantly larger proportion of Australian red meat was shipped to destinations outside of the top three markets (US, China and Japan) in 2024, driven by the young, expanding and increasingly affluent consumer base in regions such as the Middle East and South-East Asia.
