Live ex numbers in decline

According to Farm Weekly, live ex cattle numbers are expected to be down by as much as 300,000 head on last year, following resistance from Middle Eastern and South East Asian markets. Live export feeder and slaughter cattle exports totalled more than 865,000 head for the 12 months to April 2017, down 27 per cent on the previous year.
The importing of Indian buffalo meat to Indonesia in an attempt to reduce consumer beef costs has played a significant role. This begs the question of why we didn't secure a robust meat trade to Indonesia ….
The sheep market is also experiencing a decline in live exports, with April year-to-date figures down 12% from 2016 at about 1,790,000 head.  Pricing is apparently an an issue and supply is an issue in WA….not that live ex in anyway competes with domestic processing…..
This is a positive for Australian animals but we cant lose sight of the huge number that will still have suffered in the last 12 months. Lets hope the decline in numbers continues.....!