The world still has a hunger for Australian beef

The world can't get enough of Australian beef. 

The Australian beef industry looks set to remain on a firm footing through 2026 despite record production levels, thanks to strong global demand and resilient export markets, Rabobank says in its newly-released Australian Beef Seasonal Outlook 2026.

The annual report, published by the agribusiness banking specialist’s RaboResearch division, says while record supply levels - including high cattle inventories and peak slaughter volumes – present risks, particularly if seasonal conditions deteriorate, continued demand from international markets, led by the US, is providing an important support for prices.

The report author, RaboResearch senior animal proteins analyst Angus Gidley-Baird, said successive years of favourable seasonal conditions have allowed the Australian cattle industry to rebuild inventory levels to what RaboResearch believes to be the next cyclical peak.

“This will generate record cattle slaughter and production volumes in 2026,” Gidley-Baird said.

“Despite these record volumes, a strong global market is supporting record export prices and, in turn, historically-high cattle prices, particularly for finished cattle.”

RaboResearch projects this strong export market will continue through 2026 and into 2027, driven largely by import demand from the US market.

But  the report says inflationary pressures of the Iran war and the impact on consumer sentiment will need to be monitored.

“The strong export market is expected to provide support for the Australian domestic cattle market, and we believe should hold prices around levels seen through Q1,” Gidley-Baird said.

A deterioration of seasonal conditions would be the largest risk in the system, he said.

“With high cattle inventory, dry seasonal conditions – like those conditions being experienced in parts of New South Wales – could force producers to sell stock rapidly into a market flush with cattle. 

"Slaughter volumes are already at historically high levels, adding an additional 10% to these levels as we have seen in previous drought conditions would test the capacity of the system.”

Image: Beef Australia

Why Tasmanian wine producers are celebrating

Tasmanian wine producers are celebrating a combination of exceptional quality, strong value and record-breaking yields in 2025.

Tasmania’s wine grape growers managed variable seasonal conditions to harvest an impressive 23,002 tonnes of grapes - equating to about 20 million bottles of wine. This represents a 37% increase on 2024 and is almost double the disappointing 2023 vintage.

Sheralee Davies, CEO of Wine Tasmania, welcomed the 2025 vintage results and recognised the efforts of the island’s grape growers and winemakers, many of whom are small family businesses.

“Tasmania may only be a small wine region, producing 1.2% of the country’s total wine, but it represents 6.5% of the national value and is ranked fifth most valuable wine region based on its farmgate value,” Davies said.

The 2024/25 growing season was slightly warmer than average, but the island’s maritime and southerly-influenced climate helped moderate temperatures, while timely rainfall was received.

Harvesting began earlier than usual in 2025, with this earlier, condensed and larger vintage applying some pressure to winery capacity. Despite some challenges including localised frost and hail, Tasmania’s viticulturists reported good quality cool-climate fruit.

“This record vintage comes at a time when Tasmania is building on strong demand for its wine, including undertaking a new export market program," Davies said.."While global wine consumption is decreasing, people are prioritising and preferrencing higher quality wines, such as those Tasmania produces.”

The full 2025 Tasmanian wine grape vintage report can be accessed at winetasmania.com.au/vintage2025.

Image: Dalrymple vineyards