Aussie beef a hot commodity as US imports hit a high
Australia exported more than 43,000 tonnes of beef to the United States in July, the highest volume since October 2024, according to a Bendigo Bank Agribusiness commodity report released on Tuesday.
The extra demand came at the same time as the federal government announced it would allow imports of US beef that had been raised in Canada or Mexico but processed in America.
Australia had faced pressure from President Donald Trump to ease the restrictions on beef as it sought exemptions from wide-ranging tariffs.
As US herd numbers continued to dwindle due to drought in 2025, Americans have also been eating beef imported from Canada and Brazil.
But with Brazil facing a 50 per cent tariff, Canada slipping further into drought and a US ban on Mexican beef due to a parasite infestation, America would have to source meat from elsewhere.
Australian beef exports to the US would likely "skyrocket" as a result, according to the commodity report.
"That is now three of (America's) top five import markets affected due to tariffs, a reduced herd or disease," it said.
"This presents even greater opportunities for Aussie producers as the US looks to satisfy their own domestic demand with expected falling beef production."
Australian cattle producers had anticipated that opening the gates to US-processed beef would have a limited effect on the domestic market.
"The US is already importing bucket loads of beef from from Australia, so for it to come back the other way is unlikely," Craig Huf, a grazier and chair of the NSW Farmers Association far north coast branch, told AAP after the decision in July.
"So, in the short term, we probably don't expect it to impact us."
Cattle industry groups have called for an independent review into the government's decision to lift the US beef restrictions.
"Australia has got some of the best biosecurity protocols in the world and the produce here is often bought because of its clean, green image," Mr Huf said.
"So to jeopardise that is pretty risky, but here's hoping the science is right."
The total export market has been "extraordinary" in 2025, with July the highest monthly export volume on record at just under 150,500 tonnes.
For growers, widespread rainfall in July marked a turning point for winter crops across many states, the commodity report said.
"After a late break and critically low soil moisture levels through June, the late July rainfall has given growers a renewed shot at achieving average yields or better," it said.
"While it's come late, it arrived in time to stabilise crop potential, provided spring conditions remain favourable."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
US urges Australia and regional allies to increase military spending, warning that time is running out to deter Beijing
The United States has ramped up its call for a stronger military posture from Australia and its Asian allies, warning they cannot afford to lag behind while European nations dramatically boost their defence spending in response to global threats. With the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in the Pacific looming, the Pentagon has issued a clear message - deterrence against China must become a collective priority. Senior US defence officials are looking to fortify military ties across the Indo-Pacific, with a pointed focus on Canberra and Tokyo. 'We need our allies to step up,' a US defence official told the Australian. 'How does it make sense for our Asian allies to sit back while the Europeans are stepping up and committing to 5 per cent of GDP to deal with Russia, which is one tenth the GDP of China?' While NATO members agreed in June to lift defence spending to five per cent of GDP, Washington sees Asian partners as lagging behind. South Korea has been singled out as a model ally, praised for its robust defence budget and substantial standing forces. Australia, by contrast, is facing criticism from US officials who argue Canberra is not investing enough, even to fulfil its commitments under AUKUS Pillar 1, which involves acquiring at least three US-built Virginia-class nuclear submarines. 'On defence spending, the objective analysis is that the Australian government is not spending enough on defence, even for Pillar I,' the official continued. 'This is a very real near-term problem. We have essentially no time in defence terms before 2027.' The year 2027 is viewed within the Pentagon as a key strategic benchmark, with intelligence suggesting Beijing could be in a position to launch an attempt to take Taiwan by then. In Washington, there's growing unease that Australia may not be pulling its weight. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's recent Curtin Oration, in which he praised former PM John Curtin for resisting pressure from wartime leaders Churchill and Roosevelt, has reportedly triggered concerns among Trump-aligned figures. The speech was seen as a subtle signal of resistance to rising American expectations, especially in light of mounting calls for Australia to commit more resources to AUKUS and the wider regional deterrence posture. Inside the Pentagon, key strategic goals include strengthening homeland defence, reinvigorating the US industrial base, countering China's growing assertiveness, and ensuring allies 'do more to pick up slack'. The ongoing AUKUS review, led by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, is being described as 'fact-based, rigorous, and empirical'. It covers both Pillar 1 and Pillar 2, the latter focused on sharing advanced defence technologies with Australia and the UK. 'I think the main thrust of the review is to give people a real brass-tacks, clear-eyed understanding of where things stand,' a US official explained. Australia has already pledged $1.6 billion to support the US shipbuilding sector under the AUKUS framework.
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Interest rates Australia: Further rate cuts by Reserve Bank at risk as rent pushes up inflation
Rising construction costs and rental increases may prove to be stumbling blocks for further rate cuts from the Reserve Bank. The latest data from Cotality shows there are concerns for housing inflation and its knock-on effects off the back of rental re-acceleration picking up in state capitals for the first time in two years. The capital city rental value index has increased by three per cent to July 2025, up from 2.7 per cent a month before, according to Cotality's August monthly housing chart pack. That has marked the end of 16-straight months of moderating or stable rental growth. It was a trend worth keeping an eye on, Cotality economist Kaytlin Ezzy said. 'The re-acceleration that we've seen in rent value growth and construction costs more recently are an indication that maybe the housing component of inflation has sort of hit its floor in terms of the pace of growth,' she told AAP. 'And that we would see that component of the CPI basket shift higher moving forward. 'If it does continue to trend higher, it could put future rate cuts at jeopardy.' The consumer price index (CPI) basket is goods and services used to track changes in cost of living. The housing component made up more than one-fifth of the basket and rents accounted for 6.6 per cent, Ms Ezzy said. Another concern for housing inflation is an uptick in construction costs shifting to 2.9 per cent to June 2025, from 2.6 per cent in the 12 months to June 2024. Labour was a major factor in driving increased construction costs, Ms Ezzy said. 'We recently put out our CCCI Index report, which covers off the increase in construction costs over the June quarter ... it does suggest that we are seeing a little bit more pressure in construction costs, particularly residential projects competing for that labour with infrastructure projects,' she said. Sydney and Brisbane have led the re-acceleration in capital city rental growth with their unit markets driving the uptick. Annual changes in dwelling rents in the NSW capital have gone from a recent low of 1.8 per cent to 2.4 per cent in the 12 months to July. Brisbane's annual rental trend has risen by 1.4 percentage points following lows in February of 3.2 per cent to 4.6 per cent. Melbourne's healthy flow of new housing stock to the market had kept the trend in rent growth a little bit lower in recent years, Ms Ezzy said. The Reserve Bank cut interest rates for a third time in six months on Tuesday.
9 News
2 hours ago
- 9 News
The crucial factor that could soon cost every Aussie $14,000 a year
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Productivity: it's the crucial economic principle that has helped propel Australians into some of the best living standards in the world. But even as politicians and economists discuss it more and more, ahead of the federal government's crucial upcoming roundtable, it's something that many people still don't quite understand. So what actually is productivity, and why are experts so concerned with it at the moment? This is what you need to know. Productivity has driven the massive improvement in Australian living standards since mid-last century. (Edwina Pickles/SMH) Think of productivity as working smarter, not harder. Economically speaking, productivity is the amount of output you get from a set of inputs. Inputs are things like labour – often measured as the number of employees or number of hours worked – and capital, while output is the amount of goods and services produced. For a basic example, let's say a fast food outlet employs five staff, who work a combined 200 hours per week, and produces 5000 burgers over the course of that week. Its productivity would be 25 burgers per hour worked. So, put super simply, productivity is how much stuff you get from a set amount of effort. Productivity growth has been slowing in Australia and most other advanced economies. (Louie Douvis/AFR) Productivity itself isn't falling, but productivity growth is most certainly on the decline in Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) main, top-line measure of productivity growth has fallen substantially in recent years. In 2022-23, the 20-year average annual growth rate had fallen to 0.9 per cent, down from 1.2 per cent the year before and just half of the 1.8 per cent it was in 2003-04. It's important to note this problem isn't unique to Australia; just about every developed country is experiencing slowing productivity. Improved productivity is responsible for Australians' improved living standards. It leads to higher wages, more (and cheaper and better-quality) goods and services available, bigger profits for businesses, and overall economic growth. It also even paves the way for more leisure time; according to the Productivity Commission, the average Australian now spends five fewer hours at work every week than in 1960 due to better productivity. But if growth continues to slow, it puts all those benefits at risk. Improved productivity has allowed companies to produce more goods that are both cheaper and better quality. (Getty) To put a dollar figure on it, the Productivity Commission estimates that full-time workers will be $14,000 a year worse off by 2035 if Australia can't rediscover its previous growth and instead continues on its current trend. "The implications of that, I think, are already being felt," RBA Governor Michele Bullock said on August 12. "Real wages are not rising by very much, because that's the implication of slow productivity growth is that real wages can't grow as quickly. "If we can get productivity growth up, that will allow for more growth in real wages, which is ultimately good for Australians." Artificial intelligence has been touted as a potential productivity gamechanger. (Getty) While economists have been discussing productivity for decades – the Productivity Commission was established in the late '90s – a few developments have thrust it very firmly into the public eye. That came a week out from the federal government's productivity roundtable (officially the Economic Reform Roundtable), which was announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in June. RBA Governor Michelle Bullock has warned Australians are already feeling the pinch of slowing productivity growth. (Dominic Lorrimer) The roundtable, to be held from August 19-21 in Canberra, will be a three-day discussion involving business and union leaders about how to address stagnating productivity growth. Many of the ideas put forward ahead of the summit have focused on tax (although AI, regulation, and even a four-day working week have also been discussed), following these comments made by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in June. "No sensible progress can be made on productivity, resilience or budget sustainability without proper consideration of more tax reform," he told the National Press Club. "I don't just accept that, I welcome it. Tax is one of many ways our three primary economic challenges are related." Treasurer Jim Chalmers flagged the economic roundtable could lead to tax reform. (Rohan Thomson/AFR) That's the trillion-dollar question. Albanese has been giving mixed messages, at one point ruling out any new tax reform ("the only tax policy that we're implementing is the one that we took to the election") and reminding everyone that he and his ministers get final say on any productivity solutions ("governments make government policy"). But the prime minister has also welcomed the glut of proposals he and Chalmers have been presented with, and has insisted he's "up for big reform" – although it might be something he takes to the next election in 2028. "We're up for discussion, and one of the things I said very clearly was we weren't going to get into the rule-in, rule-out game," he told ABC radio. "We have a big agenda. We were elected with a clear mandate on May 3. That's our priority, delivering on that. "But we're also up for ideas and we're up for things that can be done immediately. If they will improve the economy, then of course we'll give it consideration." Anthony Albanese has ruled out any new tax reform but at the same time said he's open to big ideas. (James Brickwood) Respected economist Richard Holden, who along with independent MP Kate Chaney proposed a revised GST model for the roundtable , said it was crucial that proper reform does come out of the summit. "That's the question: is the upcoming August 19 roundtable going to be a moment for genuinely thinking about bold ideas?" he said. "Or is it going to be another one of these pro-forma... we have three days, we'll put out a press release and we go back to normal? "I hope it's the former." CONTACT US Property News: Rubbish-strewn house overtaken by mould asks $1.2 million.
