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Why China’s beef with Australia is making US meat exporters happy – for now
- China’s appetite for ‘well-marbled, grain-fed’ beef is growing along with its wealth, but Australian suppliers are feeling the heat of bilateral tensions
- As Chinese restaurants swap out, imports of US beef are up nine-fold while the Australian variety battles bans and delays
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As Australian beef exports to China wither amid diplomatic tensions, demand for US grain-fed beef has soared, fuelled by the appetites of a growing Chinese middle class.
Hotpot restaurants, Japanese barbecue chains and steakhouses – all expanding in the world’s No 2 economy – are swapping out for US beef, with several Australian suppliers banned since last year and shipments from others taking too long to clear customs.
Beef imports from the US have grown to 83,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, nine times the amount in the same period a year ago, according to Chinese customs data, and are set to be worth more than US$1 billion this year.
Australia also fell behind the United States this year as the top exporter of grain-fed beef to China.
“They don’t have a lot of other options when it comes to the well-marbled, grain-fed product,” said a spokesman at the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF). “That’s the product that really stands out in China.”
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China-Australia trade: Beijing set to ban nearly US$400 million worth of Australian wheat imports
China-Australia trade: Beijing set to ban nearly US$400 million worth of Australian wheat imports
Deteriorating relations with China have hurt supplies from Australia. Five of its largest factories were suspended by Chinese authorities last year for reasons such as poor labelling and contamination with a banned substance.
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