Over the past decade years meat exports accounted between four and six percent of the value of Australian exports. Beef and lamb account for the vast majority, although Australia is also an important exporter of poultry and goat meat. Exports of fresh and frozen meat peaked in 2019, when Australia exported roughly 2 million tonnes at a customs value of $11.2 billion. At the end of 2021 tonnage exported was 20% lower than two years earlier although non inflation adjusted trade value was similar.
The dashboard below allows you to take an interactive look at how Australian meat exports have changed over time by type of meat and trading partner. One panel looks at monthly developments since January 2015, while the other focused on annual value and weight between 2013 and 2021.
Two thirds of Australian meat exports are destined for Asia Pacific markets, most notably China, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia. Most of the balance is destined for the US and Middle East. Performance on a market level has been distinctly different. Figure 1 shows the development of meat exports to China since January 2015. Exports peaked in December 2019 but dropped sharply after that and have not recovered since due to continued punitive trade measures on a range of Australian export products.
Developments in other markets have not been as pronounced although key markets like Japan have exhibited a moderate downward trend since 2018.
On a product level, most of the decline has been driven by beef and not lamb, which has stayed more constant over time (see Figure 2)
Exports of poultry have grown strongly over the past two years, with most of the growth driven by exports to the Philippines.
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