WA lamb exports soar as Australia ships record $17 billion of red meat in 2023

Australia exported a record $17 billion worth of red meat last year, with WA volumes increasing by a whopping 34,000 tonnes due to soaring demand for sheepmeat. A report from Meat and Livestock Australia shows Australia exported a total of 1.84 million tonnes of red meat to more than 100 countries in 2023. Queensland was Australia’s biggest red meat exporter, accounting for 689,642t, including 582,789t of beef, 1576t of mutton and 6549t of lamb. By comparison, WA exported a total of 139,884t including 41,672t of lamb – an 18.3 per cent increase from 2022 – according to figures from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. WA’s second biggest red meat export was mutton (41,310t), followed by beef and veal (34,584t), pork (11,633t) and goat (391t). Asia – including China, South Korea and Japan — remained the biggest market for WA red meat. China continues to be the top destination for Australian red meat, importing 165,245 tonnes of lamb and mutton and 206,193 tonnes of beef last year. Japan was next, followed by Korea, which is Australia’s fastest growing lamb market, importing $279 million worth of Aussie sheepmeat in 2023. There was also an increase in red meat exports to the UK in the months after the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement took effect last May. MLA analyst Miho Kondo said the rise of young and affluent consumers in regions such as South-East Asia and the Middle East was providing Australia’s red meat industry with a “significant opportunity”. “The dial has been shifting regarding the awareness of premium red meat, as demand for non-local cuisine food service experiences and acceptance of packaged meat products purchased from modern retail are playing a more significant role in emerging markets,” she said. “For example, in South-East Asia, growing red meat consumption is being driven by increasing interest in dining out at not only Western-style cuisine restaurants, but also Japanese and Korean. “The Australian red meat industry has the potential to extend its excellent reputation overseas by expanding into more markets, accessing new consumers in already-established markets and ensuring the industry’s reputation for producing the best beef and lamb in the world.”