The world's largest beef and buffalo meat producer is the United States, producing 12-13 million tonnes. Other major producers are the European Union, Brazil and China, followed by India, Argentina, Australia and Mexico.
Argentine beef is widely regarded as the best beef globally, with its grass-fed and hormone-free farming methods resulting in leaner, healthier, and more flavorful meat.
Brazil is expected to remain the largest beef exporter with beef production increasing slightly in 2023.
The world's largest beef and buffalo meat producer is the United States, producing 12-13 million tonnes. Other major producers are the European Union, Brazil and China, followed by India, Argentina, Australia and Mexico.
Australia is the largest producer of Grass-Fed beef on the planet and produces some of the world's best Grass-Fed and Grass-Finished beef, including flavor-packed Australian Grass-Fed Wagyu beef.
Australian beef is popular
Australia produces both grassfed and grainfed beef, with strong demand for both around the world. Australia produces 4% of global beef production and accounts for about 16% of world trade.
What is Wagyu beef? Wagyu beef originates from Japan and is considered by many the best beef on the planet. With the name meaning “Japanese Cow” (wa = Japanese, gyu = cow), it can be found in four different types of Japanese cattle.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world (36%) followed by poultry (33%), beef (24%), and goats/sheep (5%).
McDonald's is the nation's largest purchaser of beef, pork, and potatoes. It is the second-largest purchaser of chicken.
Beef cattle are reared outdoors in all Australian states and territories. Southern areas with good pasture have herds with a high density of stock and northern areas, with less feed, have herds with a low density of stock. Queensland and New South Wales account for 69% of beef and veal production.
Russia was the largest producer of beef in Europe in 2021 followed by France and Germany. Eight (8) countries in Europe produced more than 1 billion pounds of beef in 2021. Russia, France & Germany accounted for roughly 40% of the beef produced in Europe in 2021. NOTE: FAO includes Russia in Europe statistics.
"Beef" is meat from full-grown cattle about 2 years old.
Australia shipped 158,000t of beef to China in 2022, a long way from the 300,000t in trade seen in 2019 before the plant suspensions started. One estimate suggested 50pc of Australia's original China-approved processing capacity had been removed following the suspensions.
Japanese Wagyu beef is ultimately the most delicious type of beef in the world. It has a better texture and taste than Australian one. But, Australian Wagyu has its worth as it is about 95% of the original Japanese Wagyu beef. However, both the Wagyu beef, Australian and Japanese, are in demand because of purity.
China has placed tariffs on Australian barley and wine in recent years, and suspended the live lobster trade and coal imports, until this week. It also blocked imports from eight beef exporters from Queensland, NSW and Victoria, over labelling non-compliance and COVID-19 related issues.
NAB economist Phin Ziebell said there were several factors behind the price drop, including an oversupply of cattle in Australia. "What's happened is, we had the drought, we had the herd rebuild, the herd rebuild is done," Mr Ziebell said. "We've had these really great three years, three wet years.
Aussies actually eat Kanagroo meat. You'll see them packed on supermarket shelves and on restaurant menus. Kangaroo is lean red meat, it's healthy and you can prepare it in many ways – steaks, burgers, sausages, and much more.
Still, Australia has been one of the major suppliers of beef to China, despite a decrease. In 2022, Australian beef exports to the Chinese mainland dropped 2 percent year-on-year to 175,127 tons, according to Meat & Livestock Australia.
Chinese beef consumption is expected to rise significantly this year, accounting for the strong demand. Imports from their biggest beef supplier, Brazil, were halted for a month earlier in the year due to an atypical case of BSE (mad cow).