NZ Sheepmeat Market – Snapshot
Mutton and lamb make up 3% of total world meat protein production, making sheepmeat a specialist niche market product by world standards. Pigmeat provides 39%, poultry 29% and beef 24%, with the remaining 5% goat, buffalo, horse and “other” such as camel.
NZ contributes 7% of the total world mutton and lamb supply. China and Middle Eastern countries are the largest sheepmeat producing regions. “Other” countries cumulatively account for 27% of sheepmeat production but each makes only a small overall contribution to the total.
Uniquely, NZ exports 90% of its sheepmeat, lamb and mutton, followed by Australia with 58%. All other countries, including the EU as a single trading block, are net importers of sheepmeat, or have only small volumes to export. The main exception is Uruguay with sheepmeat exports around 25% of production but, on a tonnage basis, the volume exported is small – equivalent to 3% of NZ exports.
NZ Lamb markets
NZ supplies 51% of internationally traded sheepmeat, but is estimated to provide three-quarters of the world’s traded lamb meat. Lamb meat exports plus NZ domestic consumption at export or wholesale prices for the year ending September 2000/01 totalled $2 billion, reflecting both strong international demand and a favourable exchange rate for exports.
The EU is NZ’s largest lamb market by value at $1.2 billion (60%), taking 49% of our total lamb production on a carcass weight basis. North America is the second largest market at $315 million, with the US accounting for two-thirds of receipts for predominantly high value lamb cuts, and Canada and Mexico for the remaining third.
It will surprise many that the NZ domestic lamb meat market is our third largest market by value at $152 million, calculated using export prices as a proxy for the wholesale market price.
North Asia (China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea) is NZ’s fourth largest lamb meat market generating $109 million, closely followed by the Middle East with $100 million of lamb exports.
Mutton export receipts plus local market domestic consumption at export or wholesale prices for the year ended 2000/01 totalled $317 million, with the local market making up $62 million of the total. The largest market for mutton was the EU at $189 million, followed by the NZ domestic market (by both value and volume).
$3.1 billion sheepmeat sector
Lamb and mutton generated $2.1 billion meat export receipts for the year ended 2000/01. Include $215 million for domestic sheepmeat at wholesale prices plus $787 million for co-products and slipe wool from the meat industry to give the sector total output of $3.1 billion.
Add raw wool exports (other than slipe wool) plus domestic wool consumption to reach a combined total of $1 billion, and there stands the profitable and important $4.1 billion sheep industry.
Thanks to “The NZ Meat Producer”
Contact for Enquiries
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 00 83 33
Fax: +64 4 894 0720
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