Australia eyes China’s ‘insatiable hunger’ for beef as imports up 40%

Hot on the back of winning lower tariffs for beef exports from its largest buyer Japan, Australia is setting its sights on winning another major prize for its beef industry by persuading China to open its market to live cattle sales.

China’s growing middle class seems to have an insatiable hunger for beef, but with limited domestic stock, beef imports are hitting record levels, jumping 40% in the past year.

Importing live cattle would not only be a windfall for outback ranchers, but make economic sense for China, with abattoirs there running at only 30% of capacity and labour costs around a fifth of wages in Australia.