Aust set to ride high on meat exports

 

JBS chief executive officer, Wesley Batista.

The chief executive officer and president of the Brazilian-based multi-national meat processor, JBS, fully expects Australia to be riding high on a wave of meat exports as the developing world's beef appetite drives annual consumption to about 120 million tonnes in the next 30 years.

In stark contrast, consumption in developed countries - notably Europe and North America, where renewed fiscal trauma has hit this year - are tipped to barely move from current levels of just 16m tonnes.

Demand is already rising so solidly in South America that JBS exports premium quality rump cap cuts and other popular beef lines to Brazil from Australia at the rate of 10 to 15 shipping containers a month.

Chile is also rising as a handy Australian beef customer for JBS, the world's third largest food company, and largest beef, lamb and leather producer.

Since buying the Swift Foods business in the US and Australia in 2007, JBS's acquisition strategy and growing meat orders have lifted its global revenue from R14.3 billion to R54.7b ($34b) last year, with R20b ($13b) of that rise being in 2010.

"When we see Europe, Japan or US economic conditions going slowly, it doesn't mean so much for overall world food consumption," said Mr Batista.

"When things are doing really well these mature economies don't actually buy a lot more food - they spend the extra money mostly on cars or their houses.

"But in emerging markets when people have a bit more income they spend it on more foods, particularly meat."

Mr Batista told this year's Rabobank leadership dinner in Sydney that even if world food demand slowed with another global economic downturn, he tipped overall demand for beef, pork and chicken to keep growing.

In the current decade emerging economies were forecast to account for 81pc of the rise in world meat demand from 278.2m tonnes to 338.3m (a 22pc total jump in consumption).