Red meat: September exports fall amid weaker global markets — MIA

New Zealand exported red meat worth $617 million during September, with global markets remaining relatively weak, according to the latest analysis from the Meat Industry Association (MIA).

Overall exports for the month were down 18 per cent on September last year.

Exports to Canada, the UK and Saudia Arabia increased, but fell for China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, the US and Australia.

MIA chief executive Sirma Karapeeva said the drop was partly a result of the very high value of exports last September, but it also reflected the ongoing difficult economic conditions in many of the major markets.

China, in particular, continued to be challenging, with overall exports in September of $187 million — down 31 per cent compared with September last year, she said.

Australia also had a 31 per cent decline in exports.

“This was partly a result of a recovery of sheepmeat exports from the low levels last September and the continuing growth in beef exports with the improved access under the FTA.”

Karapeeva said exports to Saudia Arabia grew significantly for the month, by 185 per cent to $16 million, largely driven by growth in sheepmeat exports.

North America was also “generally positive”, mainly due to an increase in beef exports and overall exports to Canada increased 16 per cent to $26 million, she said.

The value of exports to Japan was down 4 per cent to $27 million during September.

Taiwan fell 27 per cent to $19 million and Korea by 26 per cent to 12 million.

A 3 per cent drop in overall exports to the US, to $142 million, was mainly due to a significant reduction in fifth-quarter exports, particularly tallow, compared with September 2022.

Red meat exports: Third-quarter summary

Overall red meat exports for the third quarter were worth $2.1 billion, down 21 per cent from last year.

“There was a decline in exports to China and the other North Asian markets, which was only partly offset by growth in exports to North America,” Karapeeva said.

China fell 42 per cent to $642 million, Japan by 31 per cent to $88 million, Taiwan by 4 per cent to $75 million, and Korea by 36 per cent to $48 million.