AUSTRALIAN BEEF OUTPUT SEEN DECLINING IN 1987 Australian beef output is forecast to decline to 1.34 mln tonnes carcass weight in 1987 and 1.36 mln in 1988 from 1.44 mln in 1986, the Australian Meat and Live-Stock Corp (AMLC) said. Exports of beef/veal are also predicted to decline to 480,000 tonnes shipped weight in 1987 from 515,000 in 1986, and then rally to 490,000 in 1988, the AMLC said in a summary of its bi-annual meat and livestock forecasts. It sees cattle numbers remaining at around the 1986 level of 23.2 mln beasts in both years because herd rebuilding is expected to be slower than previously forecast. Beef producers are becoming more confident that higher returns in the market, both domestically and overseas, will continue, the AMLC said. The slow herd build-up and the forecast lower production is expected to bring about a slight drop in both export and domestic consumption this year, it said. The forecast does not assume a turnaround in production levels until late next year. It said the outlook for beef exports as a proportion of output remains much the same as last year when it was around 55 pct of total production. In 1985 it was 52 pct. The increase in exports of beef as a percentage of production has mainly been attributed to the decline in the Australian dollar, the AMLC said. It also forecast that Australia's four major markets, the U.S., Japan, Canada and Taiwan, will continue to dominate the chilled and frozen beef export markets. They take collectively around 94 pct of total Australian exports.