NZ Beef Mince Now Over $24/kg as Export Demand Stays Strong
New Zealand consumers are paying more for beef mince than ever before, with the average retail price now sitting above $24 per kilogram, according to Rabobank.
Silver Fern Farms chief executive Dan Boulton says his recent visit to China has left him feeling optimistic about the situation there for the meat industry.
He says the recovery in the Chinese market will not happen overnight but says he senses it's moving in the right direction, although he adds that one should not expect to see the same high prices for product of a few years ago.
Boulton says the market is going to be far stronger in the protein space - particularly for the high-quality products that NZ sells.
"The Chinese middle class is forecast to grow from 400 million to 800 million people, and they are really conscious about where their food is grown, and they care about sustainability. They have got a strong green agenda and that plays into our offering from SFF, so there is still a very affluent growing middle class segment that we will be targeting," he told Rural News.
According to Boulton, the mood of the Chinese consumers is quite buoyant - something that hasn't been seen for a few years. He says looking forwards, pricing in that market is starting to lift with investment growth in retail stores.
Boulton says they have got some deep relationships with their customers and partners who want to grow SFF brands.
He says the situation is being helped by the stimulus packages being provided by the Chinese government to kickstart their economy.
Boulton's comments come after spending a week attending the Chinese International Import Expo (CIIE) at which NZ launched its $8 million three-year publicity campaign to get Chinese consumers to buy our high-quality meat products.
Minister of Conservation Hon Tama Potaka has appointed Susan O'Regan as Chair of the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust (QEII) for a three-year term.
Red meat farmers are welcoming Labour’s plan to review the Emissions Trading Scheme and not to campaign on pricing agricultural emissions.
Where any worker in the kiwifruit industry is mistreated, we expect the authorities to take action.
Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers arable chair, Bevan Lill, said Beef + Lamb NZ data indicated that for the last six years, the average arable return on investment was about 0.8% while inflation ran about 4% - so the average arable farm was going backwards at about 3% a year.
Seed and grain companies share the concerns of arable farmers about the viability of their sector, says Seed and Grain New Zealand chief executive Dr Sarah Clark.
The New Zealand Institute of Forestry (NZIF) says unnecessary changes to New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) will seriously erode investor confidence and result in significant reductions in forest planting rates.

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