The price increase was driven by the continued rise in beef and lamb prices. The price increases outweighed the generally stable pork quotations and lower poultry prices in the FAO price structure for this food group. World beef prices reached a new record. This was supported by strong demand from the United States (despite higher duties) and China, which boosted beef prices in Australia and also supported beef export prices from Brazil.
Lamb prices also rose for the fifth consecutive month, reflecting the limited export supply of the commodity from Oceania. Increased lamb shipments to more lucrative markets, notably the US and the UK, also had an impact.
At the same time, world pork prices remained generally stable on the background of more or less balanced supply and demand. Apparently, the improved epizootic situation in the pork sector of the European Union played a certain role.
Poultry meat quotations, on the contrary, declined under the pressure of extensive export supplies from Brazil. In mid-June, this country declared its commercial poultry farms free of highly pathogenic avian influenza. However, some of Brazil’s major trading partners maintained import restrictions on Brazilian poultry meat, which affected demand.
