Senator Malcolm Roberts grills Canberra heads of departments over the safety of beef imports from the US and Mexico, including South American product entering the US through Mexico and possibly ending up in Australian supermarkets.
As it turns out only 150 kg of US meat arrived in Australia in February 2026 after a 23-year absence which was for promotional purposes.
Roberts pointed out biosecurity of Australian livestock could be threatened by importing lumpy skin disease from one of these countries.
Naturally the bureaucrats gave assurances strict monitoring by the USDA and Australian authorities would prevent any incursion of diseases.
From Beef Central
But how likely is it that any US beef trade will take place into Australia at all, given that the US beef herd is at 60-year lows, and US beef prices are at blistering record highs?
Consider the following: In Aussie dollar terms US grainfed cattle are this week $1600 a head more expensive than Australian equivalents, and even with an Australian Angus feeder price at 510c/kg today, US equivalent feeder cattle are currently A$2100 a head more expensive. At the same time, US fed and non-fed slaughter is plummeting to levels not seen in more than a decade.
Given that, there’s only two reasons why even small quantities of US beef will appear in Australia at all.
The first is about symbolism, rather than serious commercial trade. Australia has some of the highest biosecurity standards in the world, and landing even a few containers of US product into Sydney or Brisbane ports potentially has value far beyond the boxes of meat they contain. It adds cache and credibility to the reputation of US beef in world markets in general. Trump’s statement following yesterday’s announcement (published in full below) said it all: “Now, we are going to sell so much to Australia because this is undeniable and irrefutable proof that US Beef is the Safest and Best in the entire World.”
That comment belies the fact that US chilled beef shelf-life performance is often only a fraction of Australia’s.
The second reason is ‘novelty’ value. It’s almost inevitable that given that US fresh beef has not been seen on these shores for 23 years, a few marketing-savvy steakhouse proprietors across the country will hang out blackboards appealing to diners to “Come in and try an Omaha grainfed steak.”
