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MIA chief executive Sirma Karapeeva hopes the present downturn will soon sort itself out.
Global demand is still strong for NZ protein and the outlook for meat is good despite the present turmoil in some key markets - especially China.
That's the view of Meat Industry Association (MIA) chief executive, Sirma Karapeeva, who says while she may be overly positive, she believes the present downturn will sort itself out in due course. But she says there remains a question as to how long this will take.
"How long in these doldrums? I can't speculate. I hope this will happen sooner rather than later, but the big challenge is what happens in China," she told Rural News.
Karapeeva notes that historically China has been a huge driver for primary products globally and the Chinese domestic economy seems to be at the heart of their problems which has led to a slowdown in demand and a drop in price.
She says the sheepmeat situation in China is a little bit different to beef for several reasons.
"Firstly, there are large number of countries exporting to China, so it is really a very competitive space and we are competing with volume exporters like Brazil, Australia, and a number of other South American countries. So that market is very competitive," she says.
Karapeeva says China itself is a big player domestically. The statistics in 2022 show that China had 194 million sheep.
She says because of all these factors, it's hard to get an accurate handle on where the sheepmeat situation will land in China and whether the same high prices of previous years will return.
There has been talk that the higher priced lamb cuts have been doing well in China at the expense of the 'commodity' lamb.
But Karapeeva points out that the so-called 'commodity lamb' still plays a big part in Chinese cuisine in the form of their 'hot pots'.
Alliance Group has secured greater access for chilled beef exports into China following approval of its Levin and Mataura plants to supply that market. With its first load of beef from Levin clearing Chinese customs in early January and a shipment from Mataura recently arriving in China, journalist Leo Argent talked to Alliance general manager safety and processing Wayne Shaw.
Don't be surprised if there is a bit more spending at the Central Districts Field Days this year.
New Zealand's red meat exports for 2024 finished on a positive note, with total export value increasing 17% over last December to reach $1.04 billion, according to the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
This year won't be an easy one for the red meat sector, says Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva.
Last year was tough for the red meat sector but there are positive signs, according to industry leaders.
Commodity prices and interest rates play a huge role in shaping farmer confidence, but these factors are beyond their control, says Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre.
DairyNZ is supporting a proposed new learning model for apprenticeships and traineeships that would see training, education, and pastoral care delivered together to provide the best chance of success.
Two agritech companies have joined forces to help eliminate manual entry and save farmer time.
The recent squabble between the Cook Islands and NZ over their deal with China has added a new element of tension in the relationship between China and NZ.
The world is now amid potentially one of the most disruptive periods in world trade for a very long time.
Former Westland Milk boss Richard Wyeth is taking over as chief executive of Canterbury milk processor Synlait from May 19.
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