Australia's live cattle exports fell by almost 35 percent in September, but feeder prices in Darwin have held firm as exporters expect Indonesian feedlots to start buying again for Ramadan, Beef Central reported.
September shipments totalled 46,765 head, down from 71,711 in August, the highest month of 2026, when Indonesian feedlots were restocking. Of September's total, 34,085 head went to Indonesia, 7,567 dairy cattle to China and 5,213 feeder and slaughter cattle to Vietnam, Vietnam's highest monthly figure this year. Buying is expected to pick up from November as feedlots fill pens ahead of the Ramadan and Lebaran peak, which falls in February 2027.
Trade sources put Darwin live export steers at around 450c/kg liveweight, reaching 460c/kg in places. Indonesian importers are squeezed by higher freight, a weaker rupiah, weak economic conditions and limits on the selling price of finished cattle. Northern livestock agent Michael Spencer of Adcock Partners said cattle were still moving and there was no build-up awaiting export. "Australian producers should be happy at $4.50 and I think they are," he said, adding that customers were still writing contracts at that price. He put the coming floodplain turn-off at 40,000 to 50,000 head, about a third already committed.
Market analyst Simon Quilty of Global Agri-Trends told producers in Cloncurry that he expects Australia's live cattle exports this year to fall to about 614,000 head. He said Indian buffalo meat was cutting demand for Australian cattle in South-East Asia, putting shipments to Vietnam at only 10,000 to 20,000 head this year, while Brazil, whose cattle are about 21 percent cheaper, is set to ship about 1.2 million head, much of it to oil-rich Middle Eastern buyers.
For importing countries, including Muslim-majority markets that buy for Ramadan, the figures show how freight, currency and competition from Brazil and Indian buffalo meat now shape the price of live cattle. The story was reported by James Nason.
Photo: kenhodge13 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Source: Beef Central
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