An internal circular distributed by AMIC among its members confirmed that China officially notified in recent days that, as of February 4, Australia had already used 28% of its annual quota to China. This percentage does not reflect the pace of recent shipments but rather the stock accumulated at the end of 2025, which was released in January at Chinese ports.
Although Australia shipped around 16 thousand tons in January, the Chinese calculation includes cargoes from November and December that had been held up and were then cleared at the beginning of the year, being counted within the quota that China allocated this year to its various beef suppliers.
With an average export volume of close to 22 thousand tons per month in 2025, Australia would still have around 174 thousand tons available, which would allow quota usage to extend until July or August, and “even stretch it into September with more careful management and support from other destinations such as the United States and Asia,” a trader told WBR.
