AUSTRALIA has exported a record $17 billion worth of red meat in 2023 with a total volume of 1.84 million shipped weight tonnes to over 100 countries for the 12 months ending November 2023.

Meat & Livestock Australia’s (MLA) annual global market snapshots for 2024 provided insights into where the volume and value were distributed to, and drivers of demand in each market.

The snapshot reports were collated by MLA to illustrate the competitive advantages and growth opportunities for Australian red meat across the world.

Covering 14 markets for beef and sheep meat, the snapshots provide industry stakeholders access to top-line insights on consumer demographics, perceptions, habits and trends, as well as key export statistics.

Mainland China remained the number one destination for Australian red meat exports by volume, importing 206,193 tonnes of beef and 165,245 tonnes of lamb and mutton.

Long-term import demand drivers were strong, with China’s affluent consumer base forecasted to continue expansion, along with growing appreciation for high quality red meat products.

The United States also continued to be a major market for Australian grass-fed beef and lamb - opportunities for Australia in the US centre around increasing value through premium products such as chilled grass-fed beef and lamb, rather than just growing consumption volume.

Japan is the third largest beef importer globally and the second largest export customer of Australian beef.

Korea is among Australia’s fastest growing lamb markets in recent years with $279 million worth of sheep meat exported there in 2023.

Korea’s e-commerce channel is among the world’s largest and is an easy and convenient way for shoppers to purchase Australian red meat.

Australia’s red meat exports to the United Kingdom have notably increased in just the few months since the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement (A-UK FTA) entered into force from the end of May 2023.

Comparing the half year period export volume from June to December in 2022 and 2023, beef volume was up nearly five-fold, lamb and mutton both doubled.

According to MLA’s manager of global market insights and adoption, Miho Kondo, the young, expanding and increasingly affluent consumers in emerging regions such as the Middle East and South-East Asia provided another significant opportunity for Australian red meat exporters.

“The dial has been shifting regarding the awareness of premium red meat, as demand for non-local cuisine foodservice experiences and acceptance of packaged meat products purchased from modern retail are playing a more significant role in emerging markets.”

“For example, in South-East Asia, growing red meat consumption is being driven by increasing interest in dining out at not only Western-style cuisine restaurants, but also Japanese and Korean.”

Ms Kondo also noted that the importance of MLA’s market snapshots is that they provide the latest data and insights for Australia’s red meat industry.

“Understanding our target consumers and market dynamics is a key factor in understanding which products will deliver higher returns in particular sectors and segments,” she said.

For more in-depth market insights see the Aussie Meat Trade Hub website.