Move over ham, here comes lamb
It’s official, lamb will take centre stage on Kiwi Christmas tables this year.
It is worth noting, however, that sheepmeat returns were constrained by supply.
NZ beef and veal exports generated $3.2b in 2014-15, up 39% on the previous season. This reflected an increase in shipments (+10%) and average value (+26%).
Driven by high beef prices, mainly due to strong US demand and low dairy prices, NZ beef production increased significantly in 2014-15.
Beef exports averaged $7510/tonne in 2014-15 vs $5970 in the previous season. In the 35 years since records have been kept, the average value of NZ beef exports has not exceeded $6000/tonne.
Demand was particularly strong in North America and Northeast Asia, where exports increased by 22% and 7%, respectively, while shipments to every other region declined. The two largest export markets were the US and China.
Despite an increase in lamb production in the 2014-15 season, NZ lamb exports were down 2%, but offset by a rise in the average value of lamb exports (+3.4%).
NZ lamb export returns reached $2.6b in 2014-15, up 1.3% on the previous season. In 2014-15 half of the returns were achieved in the EU, while Northeast Asia, the second largest export region, accounted for 21% of lamb export returns.
After doubling over the previous five years, NZ lamb shipments to Northeast Asia decreased by 12% in 2014-15. This was due to more product being exported to other markets.
While 2014-15 NZ mutton shipments were down on 2013-14 – dropping 8.8% to 85,300 tonnes shipped weight – the shipments were still 13% higher than the five-year average. This reflects higher levels of production and exports in 2013-14.
The combination of lower shipments and no change in the average value resulted in mutton export returns dropping 9.0% to $445m in 2014-15.
