BEING the gateway for the high concentration of national beef processing capacity in southern Queensland and northern NSW, the Port of Brisbane acts as a handy barometer of the Australian beef industry’s level of export activity.

Meat products (principally beef, but including a little sheepmeat) accounted for 6458 refrigerated standard containers (TEUs) exported through the port in July – up almost 10pc on the same period last year.

The United States was easily the largest destination, accounting for 2475 TSUs during July, or 38pc of all export meat trade through the port, records show.

The Port of Brisbane remains a key gateway for Australian processed beef, providing the departure point for about 50pc of the country’s shipments.

Fresh and frozen meat was second only to cotton (6766 TEUs) in terms of containerised export movements through the port in July.

A TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) is a measure of volume in units of twenty-foot long shipping containers. A 20-foot container equals one TEU, while larger 40-foot containers equal two TEUs.

“Strong volumes of processed beef exports have continued during July and August, with cattle supply and overseas demand at elevated levels,” Port of Brisbane chief executive Neil Stephens said in a recent stakeholder newsletter.

Shipments to most markets have increased over the last 12 months, with demand from the US increasing by almost 100 percent. Japan and South Korea accounted for more than 40pc of the Port’s total throughput, Mr Stephens said.