Whole Australian beef exports rose 33% year-on-year in March, placing the month 58% above the five-year-average, and simply 462 tonnes behind the report month-to-month export figures set in July 2025. Volumes to the highest 4 commerce companions all elevated, with demand from the US rising 5% from the earlier month and placing year-to-date totals to the nation 13% increased than the identical interval final yr. Chinese language commerce was additionally on the rise as exporters compete to get beef into that market earlier than the brand new safeguard quota is full. Solely two months beforehand – each on the finish of 2019 – have seen extra Australian beef head to China, with exports up 62% year-on-year for March.
The tariff which will likely be utilized to Australian beef destined for China as soon as the 205,000 tonne quota is full, together with rising world commerce and political volatility, might have been a few of the catalyst for the Australian authorities to finalise the long-negotiated free commerce settlement with the European Union final month. However as a substitute of considerably rising market entry for Australian beef, the end result has resulted in what Meat & Livestock Australia has labelled “worst ever free commerce settlement for Australian pink meat business thus far”.
Presently – and more likely to be the case for not less than the subsequent 1-2 years till the A-EU FTA is ratified by the EU – Australia can export 4400 tonnes carcase weight of beef to the EU which incurs a 20% in-quota tariff, in addition to with the ability to entry a world tariff-free high-quality grain fed beef quantity of 5851 tonnes, however which will also be utilised by Canada, New Zealand, Uruguay and Argentina. In 2025, Australia exported 7638 tonnes of Beef to the EU, which made up 0.37% of Australia’s complete annual beef exports.
As soon as ratified, the brand new FTA will after 10 years enable Australia to entry a complete beef market of 30,600 tonnes, made up of 16,830 tonnes of grassfed and quick grain-fed beef tariff-free, and 13,770 tonnes of lengthy grain-fed beef with a 7.5% tariff. For the primary five-years of the FTA, nonetheless, the accessible quantity will likely be one-third of the eventual complete, or simply over 10,000 tonnes. Comparatively, the UK has tariff and quota-free entry to the EU beef commerce, whereas the Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) signed a deal in 2024 with will grant them a quota of 99,000 tonnes over 5 years at 7.5% tariff, and Canada has entry to 50,000 tonnes.
