Australia has exported just under 300,000 cattle to Indonesia since the start of January, marking the largest year-to-date level of trade for six years.

Live export steer

Latest data show Australian cattle exports to Indonesia  in July totalled 44,841 head, 17 percent above the rolling five-year average for the month.

That brought total exports for January to July 2025 to 299,630 head, also well above the rolling five-year average for the corresponding period of 253,419 head.

The last time Australia exported more cattle to Indonesia in a January to July period was pre-COVID, with 375,000 head shipped in the  same period of 2019.

In total Australia exported 64,632 cattle in July, taking the calendar year tally for 2025 to 436,230 head with five months of the year to go.

After rising to 65,665 head in April and 55,565 head in May as exporters supplied Indonesia with cattle to help meet beef demand for the Eid al-Adha religious festival in early June, monthly trade volumes eased slightly since to within the 40,000-45,000 head range in June and July.

Trade conditions have been described as consistent and stable by exporters Beef Central has spoken with in recent weeks, helped in part by the first-year Prabowo Government’s strong focus on building food security in Indonesia, and the important role it sees live cattle exports from Australia playing in helping to bolster that aim.

July exports to Vietnam totalled 16,507, a slight increase on the June total of 16,341 head, taking year-to-date numbers to 62,206 head, about 18 percent lower than the corresponding period of 2024 (74,247 head).