Meat and bone meal prices moved higher into China this week, supported by tightening supplies out of the exporting countries. Trading into Indonesia remains flat, but neighboring countries are paying as high as US$450 CIF for bovine MBM.

Australian bovine MBM prices were up by A$40 compared to the last traded level on export and domestic material. Cattle slaughter continues to run tight. The MLA estimated cattle slaughter for the previous week at 101,800 head, down 33 percent from the year prior and down 5 percent from the week prior. The tighter supplies and the likelihood of continued, lower production have contributed to the upswing in price. The JBS Brooklyn lamb and beef processing center reopened, but the JBS Dinmore plant remains idled. Jobkeeper payments remain at issue for the plant with Prime Minister Morrison suggesting employees of the plant use unemployment benefits. In contrast, plant officials have argued that Jobkeeper payments to competing abattoirs give…