Independent Chair of the Red Meat Advisory Council, Don Mackay, said this months’ State of the Industry Report 2018 highlights the key economic and community role the Australian red meat and livestock industry plays for the nation – and the potential for it to make an even bigger contribution.
“In 2017, our industry was the lead exporter of sheepmeat in the world despite representing only six per cent of the global sheep flock,” Mr Mackay said of the report prepared by Meat and Livestock Australia.
“We were also the third largest exporter of beef in 2017 behind Brazil and India and the world’s leading exporter of goatmeat in 2016.
“We also exported 867,056 live cattle, 1.9 million live sheep and 12,245 goats.
“This represents around $13.3 billion in export earnings.
Mr Mackay said beyond exports red meat continues to be a key part of how Australians live their life with Australians one of the largest red meat consumers per person in the entire world.
“Our industry continues to be a major employer, employing 438,100 Australians directly and indirectly, supporting 82,500 businesses and generating $65 billion in turnover,” Mr Mackay said.
“90 per cent of these jobs are regionally and rurally based; and our combined workforce accounts for 4 per cent of total industry employment in this country.”
Australians eat 3x beef and 5x sheepmeat
“And Aussies still love red meat – what we don’t export, we eat. Australians are eating three times as much beef and five times the global average of sheepmeat.”
“Most Australians consider beef to be part of a healthy, balanced diet.”
State of the Industry 2018 was developed by the Australian red meat and livestock industry’s service provider Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and builds on the inaugural report commissioned by MLA for the red meat industry in 2017.
It benchmarks where Australia sits in terms of red meat consumption, production, imports & exports, as well as the economic significance of the industry in a world where global red meat demand is projected to grow between 1 – 2 percent.
Source: www.ausfoodnews.com.au
