Agriculture price reporting agency Argus will next week launch a 100-day grainfed knuckle and chuck roll price assessment in Australia.
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The 50-year-old global company with a team around the world has had a meat and livestock service in Australia for three years providing market participants with tightly specified, independent benchmarks to manage growing risk, protect margins and monitor price spreads.
The Argus cattle price has gained significant traction in recent years and now provides price settlement for the Macquarie beef swap and StoneX feeder cattle swap.
Country manager for Argus in Australia Jo Clarke said evolution of the beef price offering into cuts was a direct response to market demand.
She flagged future options including a southern feeder cattle price, Wagyu feeder steer pricing, different chemical lean trim pricing and possibly other proteins.
Argus was also working on export tallow pricing for biofuels, she revealed.
Ms Clarke said banks were now considering Argus pricing to structure debt as land value could be a flawed metric.
The Argus cattle price was also widely used as a floating index in producer/feedlot transactions, she said.
With price volatility likely to continue given less predictable weather, evolving trade flows and increased risk of disease, independent benchmarks and swaps were gaining momentum in Australia, Ms Clarke said.
Also driving the momentum was ongoing calls for greater transparency.
"While it's unlikely Canberra will mandate price reporting like in the US, there is a sense that markets perceived to be related to cost of living that are opaque could be singled out by governments or regulators for mandatory reporting," Ms Clarke said.
"That's leading to people looking at what can be done to reduce that opaqueness."
Shan Goodwin
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
