Australia has established markets for beef cattle, sheep, pigs and chicken. The industry produces and processes meat products and live animals for domestic and export markets. In 2005-06, Australia’s meat industry contributed A$11.83 billion to farm production, which was valued at A$34.8 billion.

Australia is a globally competitive producer of beef and lamb and is the world's second largest exporter of beef after Brazil, with markets in over 100 countries. Meat exports represent over 60 per cent of the industry’s trade and consist mainly of red meat; however, there is growing demand for other meat product such as pork, goat and buffalo and game and exotic meats. Red meat exports totalled almost 900,000 tonnes with about 75 per cent of the volume attributed to beef and veal in 2005-06.

Meat is also an important contributor to the food processing industry, comprising beef and veal meat (72%), sheep meat (15%), and pig meat (13%) production. In 2005-06 meat processing was valued at A$17.45 billion out of a total value for food processing of A$69.8 billion.

Sources:

• ABARE, Australian Commodities, 2006.
• IBISWorld, Meat Processing, 2007.

Industry sub-sectors

Beef cattle
The Australian beef industry is free from major diseases including bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), brucellosis, tuberculosis and foot and mouth disease (FMD).

Beef cattle farming is undertaken across the country but the majority of cattle are located in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. In 2005, the Australian beef cattle herd reached 24.7 million.

Australian exports of beef and veal were valued at A$4.7 billion in 2005. Beef and veal products contributed A$4.3 billion (909,000 tonnes), and live cattle accounted for A$337 million (573,000 heads). Leading markets included Japan (405,000 tonnes), the United States (317,000 tonnes) and Korea (106,000 tonnes).

Sheep meat

The Australian sheep industry is internationally recognised as being clean, green and free from all major epidemic diseases, including FMD and scrapie. Australia is the world's third-largest producer of sheep meat after China and the European Union. In 2005, sheep meat production totalled 616,000 tonnes, including 375,000 tonnes of lamb and 241,000 tonnes of mutton. The Australian flock consisted of 101 million sheep and lambs over this period.

Australia is the world leader in mutton exports and is second only to New Zealand for lamb. In 2005, Australia exported 360,000 tonnes of mutton and lamb, while New Zealand exported 369,000 tonnes.

Pig & poultry

Pig farming is carried out across Australia but farms concentrated in the eastern states. By herd numbers, New South Wales was the largest pig producer accounting for 29 per cent, followed by Queensland (26%), Victoria (21%), South Australia (13%) and Western Australia (9%) from a total of 2.5 million heads in 2005. Production was 390,000 tonnes.

Poultry meat (chicken, turkey and duck) production occurs in all Australian states and territories, with most processing plants located in close proximity to large cities and their transport networks. In 2005, poultry production recorded 802,000 tonnes, most of which was consumed domestically.

The Australian chicken meat industry has undertaken significant investment in recent times. Most producers use automatic equipment and modern chilling and freezing facilities. Such technological advances allow processing in excess of 9,000 birds per hour, with higher yield and improved quality control.

Game and exotic meats

Australia is renowned for producing high-quality game and exotic meats, raised on Australia’s extensive pastures and native grasslands. Innovative production and marketing measures in the industry have seen Australia's goat, kangaroo, buffalo, emu, camel, crocodile and deer meat industries grow from strength to strength.

Australian game and exotic meats are largely exported to the US, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Europe.

(Source: ABARE, Australian Commodities, 2006.)

Government support

Quarantine

The Australian meat industry prides itself on freedom from many serious diseases that can affect livestock. This is mainly attributed to tight, scientifically formulated quarantine restrictions on livestock and meat products entering Australia. These controls are among the most stringent in the world and are administered by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.

Research and development

The Australian Government supports various meat industry sectors by funding Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs). The CRC's aim to improve the competitiveness of the meat industry through research and development – centres exist for:

• Beef Genetic Technologies;
• Australian Sheep Industry;
• Internationally Competitive Pork Industry; and
• Australian Poultry Industries. 

Technology

Innovation and technology play an important role in ensuring the long term competitiveness of the Australian meat industry. In response to global concerns of animal disease, the industry has developed a scheme that is used to trace livestock origins. The National Livestock Identification System for cattle has been used for two years now and has successfully proven its value in several disease related tracings.

Current research is based on advanced genetic technology and management systems for precision livestock breeding to improve product quality and yield; and innovative packaging solutions that extend product shelf life. Dedicated research and development organisations include the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Beef Genetic Technologies, the Sheep Genomics Program, the Sheep CRC and Rural Research and Development Corporations.