A cowboy herding cattle on a ranch in eastern Oregon. Picture: Shutterstock
WHILE the United States Government was publicly criticising Australia for applying what it terms as “non-scientific trade barriers” against US beef imports, it quietly removed protocols enabling Australian cattle imports to the US from its website, something Australia’s trade only discovered at a later date.
The protocol was last used to facilitate small shipments of Australian breeding cattle to the United States as recently as 2017, according to Australian industry records.
Beef Central understands Australian government and trade officials only became aware of the removal of the protocol after members of the Australian cattle export industry discovered it was no longer appearing on the USDA’s website last year.
The change was noticed after several major US lot feeders began approaching Australian live cattle exporters inquiring about prospects and feasibility for live feeder cattle from Australia to help fill the US beef supply void.
With the US cattle herd at historic lows and strong domestic demand driving cattle prices in America far above those in Australia, the economic equation is said to strongly support the concept. Figures quoted this week show US feeder cattle are currently A$2100 a head more expensive per head than Australian equivalents. One Australian export industry source told Beef Central this week it would be an “economic no-brainer”.
The US cattle shortage has been further exacerbated in recent months after the US Government suspended live cattle imports from Mexico, due to the presence of New World Screwworm in that country. More than one million Mexican cattle typically flow into US feedlots each year, but that supply line is now also suspended due to the biosecurity threat. (See earlier Beef Central article on Mexican cattle exports to US here).
Beef Central understands Australian officials contacted the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to inquire about the status of the live cattle protocol after being alerted to its disappearance from the USDA website.
In response, they were advised that the United States does not recognise Australia’s freedom from bovine tuberculosis, and before the protocols could be reactivated, the US would need to undertake its own assessment of Australia’s TB status.
This was despite Australia having been officially recognised as free of bovine tuberculosis by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) since 1997, following a successful 27-year national eradication program.
The US has worked to eradicate tuberculosis from its own livestock population since 1917, but the bacterial disease remains at very low levels with an estimated prevalence of 7 per 1 million cattle screened, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Beef Central has contacted the USDA with questions about the removal of the Australian live cattle import protocol and will update this article with a response when received.
Multiple export trade sources have indicated that that demand for Australian cattle from US commercial interests to help fill the US supply gap remains strong, with cattle price differentials, the exchange rate and freight costs enabling trade to be conducted at profitable levels if the protocol was in place.
Probably confusing us with Austria . . .
Now that Australia is being forced to accept USA beef, will we apply a reciprocal 10% tariff? I hope so.
will require proof from birth of the source?
I hope our Government didn't fail on every account.
Feed Australians first and keep the integrity of our food chain and its quality. America is destroying their own farm ownership for multinational corporations and their quality of food is non existent. Let them get their act together first.... they have the land and the farmers. Leave Australia alone, we do not want their beef in our country, we want to support out farmers. Keep your money out of our paddocks. Australulians first
Why does Australia export beef the USA and then import beef from the USA to Australia? Could this beef even be the same beef just going backwards and forwards across the Pacific Ocean?
great to see some sense being made in the cattle Industry
Anyone remember BTEC. Federal state program that ran throughout the 70s and 80s into the 90s. Supposedly to eradicate Bovine TB and allow NT beef imports to the US hamburger trade. Bankrupted nearly every owner operated cattle station south of Katherine.
As I said at the time. 1. Feral pigs in the Top End pick up TB from the bones of infected cows. 2. Wild herds that transverse the USA/Canada border carried TB.
The Yanks were then and apparently still are using this as a non-tariff barrier to Aussie Beef.
The staggering hypocrisy of Trump is so pervasive it is hardly commented on. He crows about us while doing the same. Still, I suppose he is open about it.
I am not an expert on Beef industry, so I am unsure if Australia does use its ban on US Beef to protect Australian beef growers (I imagine it's likely).
I am an Expert on Defence & AUKUS & it's extreme importance to Australia & the Publics 70% approval for AUKUS.
We as a democracy are allied with US through ppl, not Governments. US is an amazing Country and people that have done wonders for the world. I refuse to pretend US is bad just bc a different & temp Presiden exists at the moment leader for 4 yrs.
I'm from NZ, we sure as he'll don't need a military tie to America, they have bullied their way around the world. The tide has turned, America needs our beef, but Trump thinks otherwise. Better to find more reliable trade partners in Asia, Canada has shown the way to deal with bullies, our government should do the same.
filling the gap with live imports does not appear to provide sufficient incentive for us cattlemen to even start to build back their herd.
this is why the cattle price keep breaking record in recent weeks.
We won't be buying any American beef because America is standing all over Australia because this government and the last LNP government have both sold out to the yanks especially Morrison with Aukus for personal gain and the biggest reason ,We have the best beef and you don't know what the yanks or Mexicans are putting in their cattle .
No yank meat for me. We have a small Angus herd. Even if we did not. No way. As it is Australian farmers are getting very little in renumeration. The TB issue is another back door tactic. Look at the Pharmaceutical lobby in US.
The bullying and suck up is enough for me.
why the can no body else seem to see this?
these negotiations are not just about the beef.
The Australian government is throwing the beef industry/ Australian biosecurity under the bus so as to negotiate a better position for its favourite political donor the pharmaceutical industry.
the exchange rate is the main factor in the price differences.
however, selling live cattle to the US, will only make the divide worse for Australian farmers,
won't it ?
it is my understanding that beef prices are so much higher in the US that it is highly unlikely that any US beef will be sold in Australia, especially since US beef cannot be properly documented and who knows what it has been injected with.
Our cattle industry is the best in the word and the bullying by trump is very disturbing and our prime minister should stop the import and think about protecting Australian beef other countries would welcome our beef and not be threatend