Never mind the sheep dip

A summary of the trade flows to the top sheep meat destinations is as follows.

China – Quarterly sheep meat exports to China from Australia continue to run below the average seasonal trend and June saw the volumes turn further south. It is not uncommon to see the export volumes of sheep meat reach a low during the Australian winter as sheep & lamb numbers tighten. Q2 saw a 13% drop in sheep meat exports to China from the export volumes set in Q1 with 28,157 tonnes shipped during quarter two. Compared to the 2023 season the current Q2 trade volumes are running 35% softer and sit 11% below the Q2 average trade levels, based on the last five-years trade.

USA – In contrast to China, sheep meat exports to the USA are booming in 2024 and Q2 was no exception, despite an easing in flows during June. Q2, 2024 saw 25,779 tonnes of Aussie sheep meat exported to the USA, a 47% increase on the Q2 flows from 2023 and representative of levels that are 31% above the five-year average flows for Q2.

The Others – Like the USA, sheep meat export from Australia to all other trade destinations (except the China & the USA) have been booming during 2024. Q2, 2024 saw a record volume of sheep meat exports to other destinations, with 101,390 tonnes shipped and beating the previous Q2 record set in 2018 by 41%. Current quarter two flows to other destinations are sitting 41% above the volumes shipped in Q2, 2023 and 79% higher than the Q2 average flows, based on the last five-years of the trade.