Beef prices climb as supply contracts in key markets
With production volumes contracting in most major beef-producing regions, global cattle prices have continued to rise across recent months.
Confusion seems to reign in the supermarkets, especially in China where consumers are faced with multiple messages about products and have little time to work out if the messages are correct.
That's the view of Stefan Vogel, general manager of Rabobank Research for Australasia. He says a myriad of messages coming at consumers from all directions, about what to buy and what is best, put them in a quandary and often they don't know what to do.
He told delegates at the recent NZ Institute of Primary Industry Management (NZIPIM) conference there many are changes taking place for consumers. He says inflation and high prices have forced them to look seek best value for money when food shopping. The result is that people have effectively traded down, putting products such as lamb in a difficult spot.
"We have just done a study in China comparing sheepmeat and beef to the traditional big one in China, which is pork. It shows that beef and poultry are considered healthier, and we actually see a bit more growth on the consumption over there for beef, poultry and seafood compared to pork... good news for NZ," he says.
The situatin with sheepmeat with complex, says Vogel - especially given the large volumes of Australian product coming on the market - and he doesn't see this changing for another 18 months.
For NZ, combating that confusion at the supermarket is the challenge, he says. Later this year, our meat industry is launching a major 'country of origin' campaign in China, highlighting the attributes of our meat and its advantages over our competitors.
Vogel says people don't have a long attention span.
"With things like Tik Tok around you have only a few seconds to tell your message, so that must be catchy and visual. I was in China a few weeks ago and there was nice sign on top of the shelf making one product stand out. When I looked closer, I saw it was Australian beef promoted as something special, natural and healthy and I never saw anything like that about NZ," he says.
The other issue exporters to China need to respond to is that people there are not used to cooking - especially lamb. He says the younger generation live in small apartments with small kitchens, time is precious and often convenience becomes their priority. Prepared or partly prepared meals can help overcome that probllem for them. For example, having meat that is marinated will help win over consumer.
"But as well as being convenient, the food needs to be healthy and address that issue of being good for the environment.
"Packaging that all together is not easy but that is challenge of the next few years," he says.
"It takes a bit more skill to make lamb tastier and that is a challenge we can overcome by thinking how we can deliver a product that nicely fits into their pocket."
High-Value Lamb
The food service industry is another target for NZ, especially when it comes to lamb, says Stefan Vogel.
That sector needs to be convinced that the products we are offering are the important ones, so they will push sheepmeat. He says it's fantastic to go to a restaurant these days and see lamb rack on the menu that has come from certain producing group, a particular region and is a high-quality product.
"I think the right eay to go is for a higher-quality product at the higher end of the value chain," he says.
Vogel says there will likely be growth in sheepmeat consumption in China in future but adds it will not be at the levels it was in the past.
"Consequently, NZ has to be very agile in the marketing of sheepmeat products," he says.
A US-based company developing a vaccine to reduce methane emissions in cattle has received another capital injection from New Zealand’s agriculture sector.
Wools of New Zealand has signed a partnership agreement with a leading Chinese manufacturer as the company looks to further grow demand in China and globally.
Opportunities for Māori are there for the taking if they scale up their operations and work more closely together.
OPINION: Farmer shareholders of two of New Zealand's largest co-operatives have an important decision to make this month and what they decide could change the landscape of the dairy and meat sectors in New Zealand.
As the first of a new series of interprofessional rural training hubs opened in South Taranaki late September, Rural Health Network has celebrated the move as a "key pathway to encourage the growth and retention of health professionals in rural areas".
OPINION: Ageing lefty Chris Trotter reckons that the decision to delay recognition of Palestinian statehood is more than just a fit…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly recently met someone at a BBQ who works at a big consulting firm who spent…