Offal exports ease on the back of waning production

September beef and veal offal exports eased 16% year-on-year with 11,765 tonnes swt shipped during the month, taking the year-to-September total to 102,951 tonnes swt – back 14% from the corresponding period in 2015. This follows the year-to-August Australian adult cattle slaughter easing to 20% below 2015 levels.

Year-to-September beef offal exports to;

• Japan were 16% lower year-on-year, at 17,313 tonnes swt. Most cuts showed the decrease, with tongues easing 17% to 5,975 tonnes swt and skirt slipping 6% to 5,747 tonnes swt despite continuing growth in the yakiniku sector.
• Hong Kong eased 11% to 16,064 tonnes swt, underpinned by a 10% decline in tripe shipments (15,359 tonnes swt) which accounts for 96% of beef offal exports to the market.
• Korea totalled 15,526 tonnes swt, back 22% year-on-year. Shipments for this period predominantly consisted of cheek meat and skirt cuts which declined 24% and 17%, respectively.
• Indonesia increased nine-fold to 11,945 tonnes swt of predominantly lips, heart and manufacturing cuts as a result of changes to the import policy of offal product which restricted trade last year.
• South Africa declined 23% to 9,814 tonnes swt, with liver shipments easing 23% year-on-year.
• Middle East more than halved, with 5,657 tonnes swt shipped as a result of a considerable decrease it exports to Egypt (back 70% to 3,173 tonnes swt).

Similarly, mutton, lamb and goat offal exports collectively for the month eased 15% year-on-year to 2,634 tonnes swt and were 6% lower than 2015 for the year-to-September period – also following a net reduction in slaughter numbers.

Year-to-September mutton, lamb and goat offal exports to;

• Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia remained steady year-on-year with 6,836 tonnes swt and 6,274 tonnes swt exported, respectively.
• Papua New Guinea eased 6%, totalling 1,558 tonnes swt.
• UAE totalled 1,100 tonnes, up 7% compared to the same period in 2015.

Production is expected to remain tight for cattle, sheep and goats for the remaindered of the year – further impacting offal volumes available for export. For further information on exports and pricing trends, please see the latest MLA Co-product report.