Rising meat exports require cut-specific and market-specific reading

Preliminary AMA-Marketing data for the first half of 2026 show different dynamics across Austria’s meat-export categories. Beef export value rose 12.2% to about €366 million, while volume increased 3.8% to around 45,500 tonnes. For poultry meat, volume grew 10.2% and value increased 9.2% to €194.7 million.

The reading matters because neither development was purely a price effect: more product was exported in both categories. By contrast, exports of sausages and bacon remained broadly at the previous year’s level in both value and volume. At nearly €478 million, these products remained the largest meat category by value in the published statistics.

Exporters should not reduce these figures to a national success narrative. They do not identify which cuts, processed products, destinations or contract terms generated the growth, nor do they show margins for farms, processors or retailers. Average value per kilogram can be a useful signal, but it cannot replace a product- and market-level profitability calculation.