A Dearth of Cattle Sends Beef Production Plummeting in Australia
Cattle at a farm in Gunnedah, New South Wales, Australia.
Photographer: David Gray/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Australia’s beef output plunged to the smallest since 2017 as farmers rushed to rebuild herds after rains eased years of severe drought.
Beef production in May tumbled a seasonally adjusted 8.4% from last year to 178,900 tons, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data. The number of cattle slaughtered dropped by 12.5% on the year to 603,500 head. Both figures are the lowest since November 2017.