Australian beef exports to the US hit a record start to 2026
Australia has sharply increased beef shipments to the United States as U.S. prices reach record levels and the American herd keeps shrinking. For Australian cattle producers, that demand is helping offset dry conditions and heavy turn-off.
Australia has exported 146,951 tonnes of beef to the United States so far this year, up 13% on the first four months of 2025. According to Meat and Livestock Australia, that appears to be a record start to any year for exports into the U.S. market. The supply response inside Australia has also been heavy, with nearly 500,000 head of cattle processed over the past three weeks.
Dry conditions have triggered a large sell-off in parts of New South Wales and Queensland, but unlike the drought conditions seen in 2019, prices have stayed relatively firm because export demand from the United States and China remains strong. The U.S. market is especially important at the moment because American beef prices are at record highs and lean beef is in short supply ahead of the summer grilling season.
Global Agritrends founder Brett Stuart told ABC that U.S. beef demand is “absolutely incredible” by almost any measure and that all generations are still spending on beef despite higher prices. He said supplies are tightening because the U.S. cattle herd continues to shrink under drought pressure. Steiner Consulting, in a report for MLA, said supplies of lean and extra-lean beef in the United States were very limited, with cow and bull slaughter in the four weeks to May 2 down 6% from a year earlier and 25% from two years earlier.
The same report said U.S. feedlots are keeping cattle on feed longer to maximise weight, which in turn reduces the amount of lean beef yielded from each animal. As a result, the United States has imported more than 600,000 tonnes of beef this year, up 16% from the same point last year. Imports from Brazil are up 39%, from Mexico 22%, and from Australia 13%, underlining how tight the American market has become.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the country now has about 86.2 million head of cattle and calves, the lowest level since the 1950s, and that the herd is likely to fall again this year. She also pointed to pressure from climate-related policy debates and to processing concentration, noting that four companies control roughly 85% of U.S. cattle processing. Stuart disputed the idea that processors are the main problem and noted that Tyson Foods had just reported an operating loss of about $200 million in its beef business, showing that the current market stress is being felt unevenly across the supply chain.