<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shoppers should brace for a rise in the price of meat due to the devastating loss of cattle from the Queensland outback floods, an expert has warned.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Farmers have seen more than 100,000 head of cattle, sheep and goats killed or lost by the weather emergency in the west of the state. The Queensland government is predicting the number will rise as further heavy rain continues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Adjunct Professor Colin Dwyer from James Cook University in Queensland has studied the impact of the catastrophic 2019 flooding in the state's north-west, and says the pressure on prices is similar now.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/missing-person-tayla-spies-queensland-mother-of-three-missing-in-outback-for-two-months/02480e8f-703c-4f67-8004-05cdbf1cd434" target="_blank"><strong><span>'People don't just disappear out here': Young mum still missing in Queensland outback</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Six years ago about 600,000 head of livestock died in the flooding disaster. Over the following year, meat prices rose by an average of 10 to 20 per cent in butchers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"All the pressures are in place to see an increase in price ... we need the ACCC to keep an eye on this to ensure there is no unnecessary price increase," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Adding to the pressure on meat prices is the impact on road haulage companies and the loss of wages in the cattle industry.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-flooding-likely-to-cause-meat-prices-rise/d1b550cd-d271-4348-9dbe-145528964b8e" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Dwyer says a strong season by cattle farmers in NSW may be able to offset any price rises caused by the loss of Queensland livestock.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/what-will-trumps-liberation-day-tariffs-mean-for-australia-and-how-should-we-respond/bdaf3ae6-d17a-4dc3-b84e-3f81919a4a2b" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump's 'Liberation Day' looms: What does it mean for Australia?</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The impact on Australian consumers could be lessened by the fact much of the lost stock was slated for export, according to another expert.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Most of the beef is high quality and heads to export markets," said Professor John Rolfe, of Central Queensland University.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple App Store</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>.</span></em></strong></div></div>