US beef output dip offers export opportunity: Rabobank
Australian cattle prices will fall heading into 2023, while US beef production will drop, providing beef export opportunities for Australian producers, according to Netherlands-based Rabobank.
Favourable seasonal conditions are supporting herd rebuilding, although ample feed availability and higher cattle prices are seeing producers trade cattle rather than breeding them, Rabobank said in its latest global beef quarterly report. It expects Australian cattle prices to hold towards the end of this year before dipping in the new year as more cattle becomes available.
Australian slaughter numbers have stayed low because of issues around a lack of workers and weaker margins prompting plants to scale back operations. Slaughter numbers started the first week of September at 92,640 head and increased to 95,361 head for the last week of October. Kill numbers have fallen between 4-8pc compared with the same period last year.
Four years of deep herd liquidation and minimal heifer retention in the US because of a sustained drought will finally take its toll on the country's beef production, Rabobank said. It predicts US beef production will fall by 3pc in 2023, with additional falls of up to 5pc into 2026. This will account for 400,000-500,000t of annual beef production. The US will look to the global market to fill this void through imports, creating increased export opportunities for countries, including Australia.
The Rabobank report predicts beef production in the US will reach a new record of 12.8mn t in 2022 but with prime and choice beef cuts down by 5pc from a year earlier. A drop in quality marbled beef is attributed to cattle entering feed yards at a younger age and being processed younger.
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Ukraine corn 2024-25 output to fall to 22.9mn t
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Low water spurs Mississippi River restrictions
Low water spurs Mississippi River restrictions
Houston, 27 August (Argus) — The US Coast Guard implemented draft restrictions for the lower Mississippi River yesterday as water levels fall. Beginning from around Tiptonville, Tennessee, to Rosedale, Mississippi, southbound barge drafts cannot be greater than 11ft and tow more than seven barges wide. Southbound transit from Rosedale to Tunica, Mississippi, cannot have a draft deeper than 11.5ft. Northbound drafts from Tunica to Tiptonville cannot be greater than 10ft. The operating drafts were reduced to 9ft in mid-October , but water levels began declining in June last year. The low water threshold of -2ft has been passed at Tunica Mhoon Landing, Mississippi, reaching -3.4ft. Memphis, Tennessee is only 2.5ft above its low water threshold. The US Coast Guard has initiated a 9ft draft requirement over the last two years when several points along the lower Mississippi have fallen below their low water threshold. Multiple sites on the lower Mississippi are forecast to reach their low water thresholds by the second week of September, according to the National Weather Service. Southbound freight rates are likely to rise as draft restrictions force barge carriers to employ larger fleets to move the same volumes, especially as crop harvests continue. With restrictions on the number of towable barges, more transits will have to occur for both south and northbound products. Grain exporters at New Orleans have taken to the sidelines as the risk of grain being caught on the lower Mississippi River has increased. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Australian canola output to fall in 2024-25: AOF
Australian canola output to fall in 2024-25: AOF
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Canadian labor board orders rail service to resume
Canadian labor board orders rail service to resume
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