Drought in many cattle-growing regions in Australia and, more recently, a shift away by producers from cattle to other, more profitable enterprises have been the main reasons for this decline.

With lower herd numbers, cattle slaughterings have also fallen (down 2pc in 2009), as has beef production (down 1pc in 2009).

In contrast, Australia's supply to the live cattle export market has grown significantly in the past five years. While live exports only make up 10pc of total disposal (disposal equals live exports plus domestic cattle slaughtered), the growth in live exports almost offset the drop in domestic slaughterings in 2009, with total disposal falling by just 0.7pc.

Globally, 2009 saw a 2pc decline in total world beef production, which resulted in beef exports falling by 5pc. In Brazil (the world's largest beef exporter), cattle slaughterings fell 2pc in 2009 as producers continued to restock.

Consequently, exports were down 14pc from Brazil.

Cattle slaughterings and beef production in the US (the third largest beef exporter and the largest supplier to its domestic market) fell in 2009, and herd numbers at Janu-ary 1, 2010, were at a 50-year low.