The changing face of eating out in the aftermath of the pandemic is presenting solid opportunities for beef, not just in the form of the big money being spent on fine dining but in terms of widening the consumer pool for high-end product.
The pace of the global economic rebound has surprised many but beef sales have been even more buoyant than gross domestic product growth and the forecasts are for a continuation of that trend.
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Meat & Livestock Australia's Scott Cameron, speaking at this year's Australian Wagyu Association conference, presented a picture of the emerging food service scene from a beef perspective that seemed to indicate that although there were certainly some negative trends in play, there was plenty unfolding to capitalise on.
Forecast growth for beef consumption per capita across the world is very upbeat: 31 per cent in the US, 29pc in the UK, 17pc in Australia and 23pc in China 23pc.
Perhaps even more exciting from the cattleman's point of view is that the data shows that last year, when restrictions started to ease, patrons spent twice as much when they went out for dinner than they did prior to the pandemic.
On the downside for food service going forward is the challenge of staff shortages and supply chain disruptions, Mr Cameron said.
There are thousands of vacancies for chefs in Australia and many restaurants are not able to operate on a full seven-day-a-week schedule.
"But what we've seen is even with reduced hours, people are spending significantly more," he said.
In February, the spend domestically on cafes and restaurants was $4.5m, up half a million on pre-pandemic levels.
There is also plenty of buoyancy in terms of beef export growth across many markets, Mr Cameron reported.
Despite headwinds such as COVID pop-ups, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and ongoing trade tensions with China, along with reduced volumes as Australia continues to build stock herds, the demand signs are very strong.
Both retail and food service markets are growing and that trend is forecast to continue out to 2024.
Mr Cameron said there was a 6.2pc bump in the global grocery retail market value during lockdown in 2020. Food service, of course, took a massive hit, dropping globally by 34pc in operator buying prices values in 2020. But it has rebounded fast, to be up 32pc last year.
QSR power
Eating out is changing, as the quick service restaurant sector merges more with fine dining. Every type of cuisine is now available through quick service outlets and that is an interesting scenario for Australia's high-end beef like Wagyu, Mr Cameron said.
Wagyu is now available in 2000 cities around the world now, with just under 35,000 menu items.
"Fine dining will remain the flagship (for high-end beef) but the casual segments will help to widen the consumer pool," Mr Cameron said.
"It's an opportunity to bring in new, younger consumers."
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