US taste for Aussie lamb on a giant high

The amount of Australian sheepmeat being exported to the US has skyrocketed, with the latest figures showing an explosion in demand for lamb and mutton. A total 2862 tonnes of mutton was exported from Australia to the US last month, a massive 217 per cent above the five-year September average according to Federal Government figures. During the same period, Australia shipped 5690 tonnes of lamb to the US — 38 per cent above the five-year average for September. While that figure marked a 21 per cent drop compared to August, Thomas Elder Markets analyst Matt Dalgleish said overall it had been a “huge” winter for Australian lamb exports to the US. “Average volumes from June to August are running 82 per cent above the seasonal flows that could be assumed as normal levels, according to the five-year average trend,” Mr Dalgleish said. “Perhaps the Yanks can be forgiven for the decline in lamb flows (last month) given their massive increase in Aussie mutton exports seen during September.” Mr Dalgleish said sheepmeat’s popularity was growing faster in the US than the country’s small domestic production sector could keep up with. “They do have some of their own producers, but it’s a very small market and they’ve been going through a bit of a downturn with domestic supplies,” he said. “Then you’ve also got an overlay of a change to the demographics of the population, with higher proportions of people of Middle Eastern origin and from sub-continental India, which are two communities that eat a lot of sheepmeat and goat, as well as an increasing Hispanic population.” He said lamb had traditionally been considered a niche product in the US, usually eaten in fine dining restaurants and rarely at home. So unsurprisingly, demand for Australian lamb took a major hit last year when eateries across the US closed due to COVID. But with restrictions easing as US vaccination rates soar, restaurants have reopened and demand has returned. “People are feeling more confident about the economy and happy to spend more and go out, and that’s translated into bigger demand for things like lamb which is what they tend to eat when they’re out,” Mr Dalgliesh said. “The outlook for the sheepmeat producer in Australia is exceptional. The fundamentals, both domestically and globally, are pointing to really good opportunities into at least the next five years if not the next decade.” Meat and Livestock Australia’s international business manager for Japan and Korea, James Cox, expressed a similar view, adding that the US had been Australia’s strongest performing market in the last 18 months. “The outlook for Australian and WA sheepmeat producers is excellent; global demand is high and there is little competition in the quality sheepmeat sector,” Mr Cox said. “Due to its closer relative proximity to other markets in South East Asia and the Middle East, WA under-indexes for lamb exports to the US. “WA accounts for five per cent of total exports to the US versus 10 per cent of total exports to all global destinations. “However, global protein markets are highly connected, so strong demand in our largest single market is good news for all Australian producers.” He said demand for sheepmeat was increasing globally as more consumers sought out “quality eating experiences”. And he does not expect that to change anytime soon. “It’s not a fad... so that’s good news for WA sheep producers because they know the future demand outlook is strong,” he said. “Overall demand for the product obviously sets the price — there’s a global competitive price for the product — so if one market is bidding up, that helps supplies to other markets as well.”