FAS releases foreign livestock reports

The Agriculture Department on Wednesday released its annual reports on the livestock industries in Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay.

The Australian beef industry has entered into a phase of major herd rebuilding after being decimated by the severe impacts of a two-year drought in 2018 and 2019 across much of the beef producing region, the Foreign Agricultural Service said. Because of this situation, FAS/Canberra forecasts lower cattle slaughter, cattle exports, beef production, and beef exports in 2021.

New Zealand beef production and beef exports are expected to recover somewhat in 2021 from lower levels caused by severe drought in early 2020, FAS said. Because of this, FAS/Wellington is forecasting beef production at 687,000 metric tons (MT) carcass weight equivalent (CWE) for 2021, a 1.75% increase over 2020. Export volumes are forecast at 615,000 MT CWE for 2021, nearly 1% up on 2020.

Uruguay 2021 beef production is forecast up at 555,000 carcass weight equivalent on larger fed cattle inventory. 2021 cattle stock is forecast up at 12.2 million head, the largest since 2005, following several seasons of large calf crops and low cattle exports, FAS said. Beef exports in 2021 are forecast up 9% to 435,000 tons, carcass weight equivalent, with China remaining the primary destination, the FAS post in Buenos Aires, Argentina said.

–The Hagstrom Report