Market Morsel: US demand persists

Livestock | 2nd May 2022 | By Matt Dalgleish

Market Morsel

April saw US demand for Aussie lamb decline by 7%, but coming off pretty high levels in March meant that volumes were still pretty solid at 6,370 tonnes swt. April 2022 lamb export volumes from Australia to the USA sits 14% above the levels seen in April 2021 and 35% higher than the five-year average for April.

While US lamb demand remains strong Chinese appetite has been subdued for 2022 with volumes running at the lower end of the normal season for much of 2022. April has been no exception with lamb exports to China nearly 30% under the five-year average for April at 3,773 tonnes.

The strong US demand has been mostly offset by weaker Chinese flows and, because these two destinations make up about 45% of all lamb exports combined, the net result is total lamb export flows for April sticking closely to the average pattern. Total lamb exports from Australia were noted at 21,803 tonnes swt, just 2% under the five-year average for April at 22,324 tonnes.

Tags

  • Lamb
  • Exports
  • Trade