Supermarkets Reject US Beef Despite Ban Lift

Australian grocery retailers are continuing to support local beef producers even after the government removed longstanding restrictions on beef imports from the United States. Woolworths, Coles and Aldi, which together control most of Australia’s beef retail market, have confirmed they will stick with local suppliers and will not alter their sourcing strategies.

Fast food chains that depend heavily on beef, such as McDonald’s and Guzman Y Gomez, have echoed this stance. They plan to keep using only Australian beef. Although the import ban was officially lifted last week after biosecurity concerns were addressed, the lack of interest from major buyers means US beef is unlikely to appear in most Australian households any time soon.

For more than 20 years, strict biosecurity regulations effectively blocked US beef from entering Australia. While the technical ban was lifted in 2019, only last week did the government complete a decade-long review that confirmed US beef meets Australian safety standards when the meat comes from cattle born in Canada or Mexico and is processed in the US.

Despite the regulatory approval, business conditions still favor local beef. Woolworths, Coles and Aldi all highlighted their strong commitments to Australian farmers. These aren’t just symbolic partnerships. Together, the retailers account for around 85% of fresh beef sales in Australian retail outlets, according to the Australian Meat Industry Council. Even large restaurant suppliers say they are not interested in switching to US beef, raising concerns about feedlot practices common in American cattle production.

This pushback against imported beef is likely to prevent the US from gaining a significant foothold in Australia’s $20 billion meat market on the consumer level. It also reduces the potential diplomatic benefits of ending the ban. While trade tensions between Australia and the US have occasionally escalated, the supermarkets’ preference for local beef seems to be driven more by consumer demand and supplier relationships than by broader geopolitical factors.

Source: Australian Financial Review, Coles Group, Greenpeace Australia

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