The new Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom and Australia certainly lit-up the media airwaves and arrived at an opportune time.
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With China boycotting everything from booze to beef and trying to make life difficult for many agricultural producers this latest announcement is a real lifeline.
Speaking to people who suggest that they have seen the numbers this really could be one of the biggest bonanzas ever seen in the beef, lamb and mutton sectors if it all comes to fruition.
Have in recent times heard suggestion of the decline that we would experience in the price of mutton sheep in Australia if China was to pull the pin on this section of our rural production.
... when this arrangement is fully implemented, we at least have some form of a fall back...
This may never happen, but this new FTA surely gives us some confidence that when this arrangement is fully implemented, we at least have some form of a fall-back strategy which would encompass not only beef but lamb and mutton as well.
As they say the "Devil is in the detail" but from the reports and details that the writer has been able to garner this really looks to have the overall stamp of a winner.
While it is fair to say China has banned some Australian beef from certain meat work, they are still according to reports taking plenty of beef.
So far this calendar year China has taken 60 385 tonnes of Australian beef down a substantial 42 per cent.
Now in terms of beef China at the abovementioned figure has moved past the United States into 3rd position behind Japan and Korea in terms of volume.
The move by Argentina to introduce an export banned to protect the Government from a back lash from their domestic consumers would have played a role in the increased interest in our product.
In May China increased their import from Australia by 27% when compared to the previous month.
MLA analyst appear to have moved slightly away from their early prediction that sheep numbers May struggle to rebuild in 2021.
The very good season across most sheep areas has seen producers give old ewes one more lambing and enticed them to in the main to keep a higher percentage of their ewe lambs.
This in turn has led to a prediction that lamb slaughter numbers will stand at 20.3 million and mutton to come in at 6.1 million head.
While these numbers if obtained will be marginally stronger than 2020 it will be less than estimated earlier in the year.
