United States-Beef production and lamb imports.

UNITED STATES-BEEF PRODUCTION.

Slaughter of heavy steers and cows in the US is set to hold domestic beef production at higher-than-expected levels.

According to the latest figures from the US Department of Agriculture, US farmers, like their Australian counterparts, are sending more breeding cows to market.

The USDA is predicting that 12.003 million tonnes of beef will be produced this year, a small increase on previous monthly estimates.

This is a slight drop from last year, when 12.05 million tonnes was produced, but higher than the 11.99 million tonnes processed in 2007.

Overall, cattle prices in the US are tipped to remain steady for the coming month, compared with March, but they are down 8 per cent on prices local producers were receiving in 2007.

Meanwhile, Meat and Livestock Australia reports that the US beef industry is also ramping up its efforts to promote products, both at home and off-shore.

MLA’s Meat and Livestock Weekly reports that the added marketing effort is to combat falling beef sales.

"In the US, beef has been suffering due to the rapid decline in food service sector sales, particularly the casual and family dining sectors," the report states.

"Historically, half of all US beef sales have been made via the food-service industry."

In addition, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has created incentive programs at grocery stores, such as offering coupons of $US1 or more for beef purchases.

Internationally, the US Meat Export Federation is increasing its efforts to attract foreign consumers to US beef.

According to MLA, its US counterpart has been promoting middle-range quality meats to high-profile hotels in Japan , in light of softening demand for these cuts in the domestic US market.

Meanwhile, MLA said lamb sales to the US have lifted 24 per cent during March, year-on-year, to 14,767 tonnes.

This takes shipments for the first quarter of the year to 41,080 tonnes, which is up by 3 per cent on the same period last year.

Exports to the US for March have increased by 41 per cent, year-on-year.

MLA attributes the boost to a relatively lower Australian dollar, low US stocks and the peak Easter demand for lamb.