FOR many dairy farmers, the live export industry has enabled them to generate much-needed cash flow as low milk prices crunch their incomes.
Others see live exports as a chance to off-load heifers for a "good" price and replace them with milking cows - animals that can create returns rather than add to costs.
But despite livestock agents' claims that they have been busy sourcing cattle for boats, the official statistics tell a different story.
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, about 8 per cent fewer cattle - 33,700 head - were exported to September this year, compared to last year. A total of 58,364 were sold last year.
Last year Russia, China and Mexico were Australia's largest customers, buying 42,411 head between them.
Elders' northern Victoria dairy specialist Bernie Teasdale said an export order had just been completed, and another was on the way in a fortnight, for un-joined heifers for $950-$1050, and chance-mated heifers about $1150.
He said Elders had sold about 10,000 cattle into the export market this year so far and with forward order contracts into the new year, "if anything it was getting busier".
"The export market is very very strong, (but) the thing in the coming months will be the availability of cattle," he said.
Mr Teasdale, who has been buying a lot of last year's spring or this year's autumn calves, said sourcing cattle in the correct age group would get harder, particularly as the increase in irrigation allocations and lower input costs had prompted some farmers to rethink selling heifers.
Landmark south west agent Gerard Delaney said he had been "flat-out" for the past six months, with the company sending six boats loads of about 3500 head during that time.
However, as pasture growth has taken off in the area, he suspects the number of cattle offered for export to drop.
"We have gone through the busiest period as far as I am concerned," he said.
Dairy Australia strategic analysis team leader Keith Lloyd said the the drop in exports was a result of the global financial crisis, high oil prices and the high Australian dollar.
However, he also referred to a "lag" in the data, where it took a month or two for shipments to be recorded in the statistics.
In terms of buyers, Mexico has bought no cattle, in stark comparison to last year when it purchased 10131 up until August, followed closely by Russia whose numbers also dwindled, from 7976 to August last year, to 600 head for the same time this year.
Up until August, China has bought the most dairy cattle at 14,014 head, eclipsing last year's 12-month total of 12,209.
Mr Lloyd said industry reports suggested Russian importers continued to face credit problems, which had contributed to the drop-off in demand.
As for Mexico, it closed its market to US dairy heifers in 2003 due to bovine spongiform encephalopathy concerns, and forced its growing dairy industry to source cattle from further afield, such as from Australia.
But the US announced in 2006 that Mexico would resume trading US dairy heifers aged under 24 months. By July last year, the US had boosted its supply of cows to Mexico by 170 per cent to 12,961.
In 2007, Australia exported 17,974 dairy heifers to Mexico. Last year 13,550 were exported.
