AUSTRALIA-LAMB TRADE GOOD.
Driving the lamb export increase for the last month was a massive 37 percent jump in shipments to the US, the second highest monthly volume on record, according to Meat and Livestock Australia.
While credit remains tight in the US, the lower Australian dollar helped to boost export sales for the peak Easter demand period in the US.
The US is Australia’s biggest lamb export market.
Demand for Australian lamb in the big Middle East market also continued at pace during February and was also bolstered by low stocks in the market.
Shipments to the region increased 38 percent year-on-year, with exports to Jordan increasing seven-fold, although from a smaller base.
Lamb demand out of Dubai remained firm, despite some easing in the tourism sector due to the global economic turmoil, with lamb exports during the month increasing 2pc year-on-year.
The only key market in the region to record a fall in shipments was Saudi Arabia, where volumes halved, but again that’s a much smaller market.