The Australian bushfires have burned millions of hectares of land and devastated an arable and livestock sector that has been struggling with drought for years. The result is a record increase in meat prices. Australia is the world’s largest exporter of mutton and lamb. The market for these products is very tight. On the driest continent on Earth, 13% of heads of sheep are found in the regions worst affected by bushfires, and 17% in partially hit regions. The fires have had a particularly devastating impact on land used for feed production. The price of Australian meat had already spiked last year as a result of growing demand for meat in China, hit hard by African swine fever. These two factors pushed the price of mutton up 50%.
Source: ft.com
