NZ: Rollercoaster ride for red meat prices

But according to the Meat Industry Association (MIA), this was despite the fact the actual volume of meat exported was up.

The drop in value, according to Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva, was mainly due to tough economic conditions and inflationary pressures in many of our key markets.

“Consumers around the world still want to buy red meat but they are not paying as much for it,” she says.

Karapeeva says increased supply from other exporters, including a significant increase in Australian sheepmeat exports, also had an impact. She says the top five markets were unchanged from 2022, but the value of New Zealand exports was mostly down, reflecting the overall trend.

The bogey man in the equation is China – NZ’s largest market – where exports fell 16% to $3.6 billion.

It continued to be NZ’s largest sheepmeat market at 216,079 tonnes – 56% of total sheepmeat exports. Volumes rose by 10% but value also fell 10% to $1.4 billion.