Australia has the opportunity to cement itself as one of the key beef suppliers into Southeast Asian markets – as the appetite for beef continues to grow among the region’s consumers, according to Rabobank.
In its just-released report Growth opportunities in South-East Asia for Australian beef, the bank said there is an expectation the South-East Asian region will continue to experience growth in beef consumption – in the order of two to three per cent per annum over the next five years – and imports will be needed to meet the majority of this growth.
Report author, RaboResearch senior animal proteins analyst Angus Gidley-Baird said a large population base and increasing wealth in key South-East Asian markets – including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam – present an opportunity for Australian beef to position itself as a high quality but value focussed supplier for consumers through foodservice and grocery channels.
Gidley-Baird said geographic proximity, trade agreements and product offering gives Australia a strong advantage in supplying countries in the region.
“Leveraging this advantage and further developing relationships and business partnerships as well as working to meet their product needs can help Australia capture future growth opportunities,” he said.
“And realising this opportunity will also support the ongoing growth of the Australian beef industry in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.”
South-East Asia represents the fifth largest export market for Australian beef, GidleyBaird said, taking approximately 10 per cent of the country’s exported beef volume and value in 2023.
Gidley-Baird said beef consumption was expected to gradually increase in the SouthEast Asian region, presenting opportunities for the Australian beef industry.
“The OECD FAO (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) project that beef consumption in the South-East Asian region will increase by 15 per cent (344,000 tonnes) over the next five years,” he said.
“Like other developing beef-consuming nations and following similar paths to more developed countries, we expect an increase in per capita (that is per person) consumption will drive the majority of this consumption growth.”
Increases in wealth, improvements in cold chains, urbanisation and westernisation of diets will all shape the consumption volumes of the future including what we expect to be an increase in South-East Asian beef retail and foodservice sales.
“The growth in retail and foodservice markets provide a good opportunity to leverage the characteristics of Australia’s beef industry and increase exports to the region,” said Gidley-Baird.
