IN parallel with record muscle meat and trimmings exports in 2024, the Australian beef industry had a huge year for edible beef offal shipments last year, records show.
Export trade tonnage for the year ended 31 December for beef offals reached a record 183,729 tonnes – up almost 17 percent on the previous year and about 21,000t or 13pc higher than the previous record set back in 2014.

Grilled beef tongue
Offals (often called fancy meat in trading circles) are often forgotten as a valuable part of the revenue stream from a typical beef carcase. Australians are not keen consumers of beef offals, meaning much of our production is destined for overseas markets.
As a proportion of total volume of all beef products, offals last year represented 12pc of Australia’s exports, by weight.
The largest offshore markets for offal vary considerably from table beef exports, and may surprise some readers.
Indonesia remained easily Australia’s single largest offal export client, accounting for 42,543t last year – marginally down on trade the previous year – but still representing 23 percent of all our international trade.
South Korea was our second largest export market, taking 29,208t of Australian offals last year, followed by Japan at 26,197t. Both Japanese and Korean consumers have a fondness for offal meats like tongue, for which they pay big premiums to finely slice, marinate, and barbecue, Genghis Khan style. In the middle of last year, Australian SW tongues were trading into international markets at around $16.60/kg.
Largely influenced by ethnic populations, the United States took 13,613t of Australian beef offals last year.
The seven countries comprising the Middle East region accounted for 12,702t, followed by the Philippines (11,330t), South Africa (10,289t), Thailand 7804t) and Mexico (5074t). The Pacific Islands and Papua New Guinea combined took almost 3000t of offal meat last year
Offal exports to China are limited by Chinese regulations to certain items only, meaning trade last year reached only 2145t. Hong Kong took a further 3053t.
Offals, both edible and in other forms (hides, tallow, meatmeal, blood serum) are sometimes colloquially termed ‘the fifth quarter’. They represent an important part of the overall revenue stream from each animal slaughtered, for beef processors.
wouldn’t it be nice if us producers were paid for it in our carcass price along with all of the other bits that are not included in our hook or yard price , us long term producers know the scams of the system, i wonder when everyone else will awaken. it is getting out of hand the corruption in food pricing at both ends.
Processors argue that they do factor-in the revenue stream from offals when they purchase livestock. True names required for future reader comment submissions please – as per our long-standing comments policy. Failure to do so will see submissions overlooked. Editor