Australia: A Key Market for U.S. Pork
U.S. pork exports to Australia set new volume and value records each year from 2017 – 2019 reaching a high of 229.7 million pounds in volume in 2019, but declined in 2020 and 2021 to 129.8 million pounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australia has been a top market for U.S. pork exports since the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement was implemented in 2005. In 2021, Australia was the eigth largest destination for U.S. pork exports.
U.S. Pork Exports to Australia
The U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement enables most U.S. products to enter Australia tariff-free. Specifically, U.S. pork products enter the Australian market with zero percent duties. All other major pork suppliers also pay zero duties on pork products.
The fresh pork market in Australia is supplied by local producers as biosecurity regulations prevent fresh and chilled pork imports. Therefore, U.S. pork access to Australia is limited to processed products and raw materials destined for further processing.
Australian Protein Consumption
Per capita pork consumption increased 2% from 2011 to 2021 and reached a new record in 2020 as immigration from Asia and price competitiveness of pork, compared to beef, continued to support increased consumption.
In 2021, the average per capita pork consumption in Australia was 44.1 lbs. This is below the OECD average of 52 pounds. However, Australia still ranks 10th in pork consumption of all OECD countries. Most notably, pork consumption has surpassed beef consumption.
Source: OECD
Per capita pork consumption increased 2% from 2011 to 2021 and reached a new record in 2019.
Immigration from Asia and the price competitiveness of pork, compared to beef, continued to support this increased consumption.
Source: OECD
Pork Merchandising Opportunities
The most popular U.S. pork exports to Australia include 3-piece hams, boneless hams and processed pork. Most processed products in the Australian market are made with imported pork.
While the U.S. is limited to only exporting processed and raw products destined for further processing, such products like hams and loins are typically in surplus in the U.S. Therefore, the U.S. would benefit from a growing Australian pork market share.
Source: USDA
