Australia live cattle exports to SE Asia fall
Australia live cattle exports to SE Asia fall
SYDNEY (AFP): Live cattle exports to Australia's important Southeast Asian markets have dropped dramatically since several regional currencies crashed to record lows, an industry spokesman said yesterday.
The Australian Livestock Exporters Council painted a grim picture of the situation facing Australia's live cattle exporters and warned some could be driven from the market.
Chairman Graham Daws said Indonesia's decision to float its currency last month wreaked havoc on live cattle exports, worth about A$230 million (US$168 million) a year to Australia.
"The Indonesian market is the single largest market and the disruption could be in the order of 50 percent," he said.
The currency movement had made Australian cattle extremely expensive and come at a time when Indonesian feedlots were relatively full, he said.
"Most (Indonesian importers) would be fairly cautious about what they are doing at the moment because of the very high cost of cattle."
Prices were also dropping in the next most important markets, the Philippines and Malaysia, he said, partly because Australian exporters stung by the Indonesia downturn were offloading their stock there.
"What is emerging now is that prices are coming off 10 to 15 cents a kilo in the Philippines and Malaysia," Daws said.
Primary Industries Minister John Anderson said Tuesday he hoped the situation would soon be resolved.
"I can only say that I sincerely hope and trust that we can get over it quickly," he told reporters in Canberra.
"These are very important outlets for particularly the northern (Australia) beef industry, but as we are now seeing, with other opportunities opening up, for the southern industry as well," he said.
"And these are tough enough times for the beef industry. The minimum disruption would be very welcome."
Daws said some exporters could seek to boost exports to Middle East markets of Egypt and Libya to compensate.
"But that is a last-resort option," he said.