CATTLE producers should not panic at Brazil being granted access to the US beef market, according to an industry executive.

Late last week, the Brazilian Government announced it could export to the US, 15 years after being banned from sending beef due to foot and mouth disease outbreaks.

And while the US is yet to announce any rules, Australian producers and industry analysts are watching the situation closely.

The US has been Australia’s largest beef export market for two years — last year Australia exported a record 415,951 tonnes to the country.

Chilled grass-fed exports to the US also set a high in 2015, reaching 74,260 tonnes.

Australian Meat Industry Council national processing director Steve Martyn said any Brazilian exports would need to fit into a US quota for “other countries” of 64,800 tonnes.

“Given the depreciated value of the Brazilian real (currency), the option for Brazil paying the out-of-quota ­import duty of 24.6 per cent and still being competitive in the US market will be watched closely,” Mr Martyn said.

“While this is the next and important stepping stone for Brazil, the practicalities of ­accessing the US market still has a few more hurdles.”

He urged the Australian ­industry to be cautious about overreacting.

“Brazil is a huge player and one should always be very ­respectful of major players in markets,” Mr Martyn said.

“While Brazil has the capability to supply grass-fed beef, it is not the sort of quality that Australia can supply.”

Meat and Livestock Australia’s US international business manager David Pietsch, based in Washington, said short-term effects were expected to be minimal.

“It is too early to speculate on the market impact of fresh and frozen Brazilian beef ­exports given a multitude of factors,” Mr ­Pietsch said.

“However, from 2017 on, Brazil expects to be a low-cost competition to those countries, such as Australia, supplying lean manufacturing beef.”

Mr Pietsch said Australia’s grass-fed beef exports looked more secure.

Meanwhile, Australian cattle producers’ peak body has reacted cautiously to news Brazil will soon have access to Australia’s biggest beef export market.

A spokesman for the Cattle Council of Australia said last week’s announcement of Brazil being granted access to the United States beef market was “significant for Brazil given the long term efforts of Brazil to access this market”.

“It (Brazil’s entry to the US market) has the potential to be significant for the Australian beef industry in the long term, as it could pave the way for Brazil to access other export markets,” the spokesman said.

But the CCA said it would continue to represent Australian grass-fed cattle producers, working with government and industry to ensure Australia’s longstanding position in export markets such as the US remained strong.

This would be achieved by promoting the many strengths of Australia’s product and ensuring that technical trade barriers were reduced, the spokesman said.

“Despite a drop in overall Australian beef exports to the US in recent times as a result of reduced availability of Australian cattle and increased domestic beef production in the US, we have seen a rise in the volumes of chilled grass-fed beef as a proportion of total exports,” he said.

“This is a result of Australia targeting the premium grass-fed beef market in the US, differentiating our product on the basis of provenance, food safety and quality assurance systems.

This is the area that Australian beef will continue to target, providing strong differentiation with any future Brazilian product.”