Global comparison of Australian beef production

Are Australian beef producers globally competitive? The latest agri benchmark global network results offer an insight into Australian and international beef production systems.

A recent report commissioned by MLA in conjunction with the global agri benchmark network examines 2017 beef production in Australia, as well as some of our largest global competitors. Instead of analysing industry averages, the approach taken by agri benchmark is to select enterprises that are indicative of the spectrum of production systems within a country.

This process highlighted a number of comparative advantages enjoyed by Australian producers in terms of efficiency, cost of production, and ultimately, profitability. The report separates production systems into the major categories of cow-calf enterprises and cattle finishing enterprises.

Within the ‘typical farm’ approach, agri benchmark examined nine Australian farms, ranging from expansive cow-calf operations in northern Australia to more intensive finishing operations further to the south.

Key points

• Most Australian systems maintain a comparably low total cost of production in cow-calf systems – similar to comparable typical cow-calf systems in South America.
• In 2017 Australian cow-calf operations had the most profitable year since 2006, with all Australian systems achieving short and medium-term profits, and all but two systems achieving long-term profitability. Increased revenues were largely driven by a rise in weaner and cull cow prices.
• Australia has moderate-to-low weaning rates and moderate-to-low productivity per cow, especially in northern systems which have comparatively low reproductive rates, extended generation intervals, and lower growth rates and turn-off weights.
• For finishing cattle, profitability levels were lower than the cow/calf component of the whole farm beef production system – a consistent relationship over the last six years. Despite this, prices received for finished cattle were above-average when compared globally, with Australia bucking the trend of declining beef prices between 2014 and 2017.
• Overall, in 2017 Australia experienced moderate costs of production, but achieved higher overall profitability due to the higher returns and beef prices, which is the opposite to trends in the majority of major beef producing countries.

More information:

Read the full report: How are global and Australian beef producers performing?