Australian exporters are hoping to benefit from rising global demand for sheep meat, as well as from a scenario of better prices, according to a report published by The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade).
The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook expects global sheep meat consumption to increase by 15%, to 18.1 million tons, over the next decade. Demand will be driven by increased meat consumption in developing countries. Additionally, more consumers will become familiar with mutton consumption in rich countries.
Australian lamb prices are also expected to increase at a faster pace than other meats, due to the higher relative consumption of more expensive sheep products.
The country is the world’s largest exporter of sheep meat. Between 2019 and 2021, Australia exported an average of US$ 3.2 billion of the product each year, accounting for 37% of global exports, with New Zealand following (US$ 2.9 billion, 33% of world total).
In the future, Australia is expected to meet a large share of the growing global demand for sheep meat. The OECD-FAO predicts its sheep meat production will increase by 19% by 2031, to 806,000 tons.
Recent Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the United Kingdom and India have also improved Australia’s export opportunities. Now, Australia is also looking to enhance access to the European Union through the Australia-EU FTA, which is under negotiation.