Australia: Cattle slaughter volumes up sharply in first quarter

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has published data on cattle slaughter and beef production for the 1st quarter of 2023. The figures show significant improvements for most species, especially cattle and lamb. 

The female slaughter ratio (FSR), which measures the number of processed female cattle as a percentage of the total, is a key metric and provides an important indication of the recovery strength of a national herd.

FSR averaged 42.4% in the first quarter, a slight (0.4%) increase from the results in the fourth quarter of 2022, but well below the industry-recognized figure of 47%, which signals whether the herd is recovering or being liquidated .

Maintaining a low FSR demonstrates that the country's cattle population continues to recover and grow, depending on each state. The data confirms MLA forecasts that the country's cattle population will reach its highest level in a decade at 28.8 million HEAD in January cattle forecasts.

The slaughter of cattle in the first quarter increased by 5% or 80,000 heads compared to the previous quarter and turned out to be higher than last year by 15% or 202,900 heads. In the first quarter, 1.54 million heads of cattle were processed in the country.