Citing figures from the Department of Agriculture, MLA says that shipments for 2008-09 reached 967,729 tonnes (shipped weight) – up 4 per cent on the previous year and only 1pc below the record set in 2006-07 of 973,880t.

Australian shipments to Japan for 2008-09 declined 1pc on the previous year, to 362,629t – the lowest fiscal year since 2003-04.

MLA says the combination of increased US beef imports, high beef stocks over the New Year, lower prices and reduced buyer demand contributed to a 23pc decline in Australian shipments to Korea for 2008-09, to 113,011t.

To the US, Australian beef exports for 2008-09 jumped 17pc year-on-year to 281,971t, which was largely a reflection of the very low shipments in the previous year (240,360t) due to Russian buying.

Indeed, exports to the US in 2008-09 remained 10pc below the average for the past five years (313,291t).

MLA says one of the key features for Australian beef exports in 2008-09 was the record exports to South East Asia, up 28pc year-on-year to 109,654t, with a record 38,089t to Indonesia.

Other regions to record increases for the past year included the Middle East and the EU, up 80pc and 17pc respectively.