Australia-Live Cattle exports slow down.

AUSTRALIA-LIVE SHIPPING TRADE FOR CATTLE SLOWS DOWN.

Australia’s live cattle trade with Indonesia is expected to slow down by 20 per cent, and prices could suffer significant falls within a few months.

There has been frowing concern that Brazil will start to undercut theAustralian cattle on price as the market is now open to them.

Greg Pankhurst, who manages Agrogiriperkasa, one of Indonesia’s largest feedlots, says the global economic crisis has hit, and consumers are shifting from beef to cheaper options like farmed prawns.

He says trade has already slowed in some regions, and should contract even more in coming months.

"Someone like ourselves, who’s always targeting about 200 head, we’ve seen our numbers fall to below 100 head a day of sales," he says.

"It’s simply just coming down to consumer spending.

"People are tightening their belts, and beef, being a luxury, is one of the first things that is being crossed off the menu."

However the live sheep trade is far different, as exporters cannot get enough heavy wethers to meat the orders from the Middle East.