The average cost to process an animal is A$450, according to a report by the Australian Meat Processor Corporation. The cost of slaughter, boning and packing has risen by about A$90 or 25% from the 2016 average of A$360.

Australian industry website Beef Central said that the finding illustrated the country’s “chronic lack of competitiveness” in processing. Despite those processing challenges, U.S. demand for Australian beef has surged amid the historically shrunken U.S. herd and record prices in the United States, some 20% higher than a year ago.

Through July, Australian beef exports to the U.S. were nearly 235,000, a jump of 69% from the first seven months of 2023. Australia has been the largest exporter of beef to the United States, but New Zealand, Brazil and Uruguay have also increased exports in part to make up for declining beef exports into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico.

Australian beef processing averages A$450, report finds

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