Where’s the beef?

The Detail

Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) weekly east coast cattle slaughter figures continue to demonstrate lacklustre performance. The kill was up on last week , but remain under the trend set in 2021 and well below the average seasonal pattern.

A Beef Central report highlights that Covid-19 workforce issues are a key factor as the spread of Omicron takes hold with some suggesting southern abattoirs are running between 30%-50% under capacity.

East coast cattle slaughter increased 52% from the very low numbers seen the previous week to hit 59,352 head. However compared to 2021 this level is still 31% under the slaughter volumes seen for this week last season. A comparison to the five-year seasonal average shows that slaughter volumes are 49% off the pace.

A breakdown of the mainland east coast states shows that Queensland reported 26,172 head of cattle processed for the week ending 14th January. This is 34% under the levels seen in same week in 2021 and 49% below the five-year seasonal average pattern. NSW cattle slaughter isn’t far off the pace set last year with processing volumes 10% under the 2021 levels at 20,422 head. However, a comparison to the five-year average shows NSW cattle slaughter remains nearly 37% under the normal seasonal trend for this week in the year.

As the Beef Central report highlighted, the further south you go the processing problems escalate. Victorian abattoirs reported just 8,091 head of cattle slaughtered last week which is 54% below the levels seen in 2021 and a whopping 65% under the five-year average pattern for this week in the year. Meanwhile, further west the Covid-19 issues for Teys South Australian plant have seen weekly cattle slaughter numbers slump to just 108 head, 98% under the five-year pattern for this week in the season.