Bright outlook for meat

Beef receipts were the second-best on record.

B+LNZ chief economist Andrew Burtt says the US economy is now doing well, Japan is coming out of recession and Europe is picking up, all at a time when the NZ dollar is staying high.

Lamb is a notable beneficiary of this economic surge.

“Lamb export receipts reached a record high of $677 million from October to December 2017, up 47% on the same period in 2016. 

“The average FOB value in this December quarter equalled the record set in the December quarter of 2011 at $10,460 per tonne – up 22%,” Burtt says.

At the same time, the value of mutton exports reached record highs.

“The volume of mutton exports was up sharply in the December quarter – by 46%. This was the highest volume of mutton exported since subsidies were removed. 

“The average value per tonne was a record $6680, up 32% on the same period in the previous season. However, total mutton production is forecast to be down 9.1% for 2017-18.” 

Burtt  says beef and veal exports generated $588m in the first quarter of the 2017-18 season, up 29% on the same period last season and the second-highest on record for the December quarter – only behind the 2015-16 season.  He says the US remains NZ’s largest beef market, taking 43% of beef exports in volume (+27%) with most of this destined for processing into hamburgers to augment local production.

Beef exports to China were also up; it now takes 22% of our beef exports, making it NZ’s second-largest market.

China continues to be a major market for NZ lamb and in the December quarter exports there rose 114% to $164m.