How might the EU-NZ trade deal impact trade? – Sheep meat

The EU-NZ Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will enter into force on 1 May 2024. Trade of goods between the two countries was worth almost 9.1 billion euros in 2022. The agreement provides improved access into the EU market for New Zealand products.

Improved access for New Zealand goods includes:

91% of NZ goods trade will enter duty free from day 1. This will rise to 97% after 7 years
NZ$100 million tariff savings from day one. This will rise to NZ$110 million after 7 years.
Increased Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) for beef and dairy products.

Potential impact on the EU

The sheep meat quota in the New Zealand-EU free trade agreement (NZ-EU FTA) gives New Zealand further access to the EU market. It currently has access under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) quota, which is New Zealand-specific, of 125,770 tonnes. The EU-NZ FTA allows for a further 38,000 tonnes of tariff-free access after a seven-year transition period, which is split by fresh and frozen product. This allows for total tariff-free volumes of 164,000 tonnes per year (Jan-Dec), at the end of the transition period.

In comparison the UK-NZ FTA, which can only be filled when the WTO quota hits 90% fulfilment, allows for spare capacity without the FTA being enacted. The quota size is 35,000 tonnes from Year 1 (2024), increasing to 50,000 tonnes in years 5-15 after which it becomes fully liberalised. This means that the UK will be able to act if there is a higher-than-expected volume of New Zealand lamb imports under existing access.

The fresh-frozen quotas for NZ/EU are divided 35%:65%, which reflects the rough split seen in recent years trade data. These quotas are based on volume (tonnes) exported in carcase weight equivalent (cwe), with 4,433 tonnes of fresh sheep meat and 8,233 tonnes of frozen sheep meat allowed in Year 0 (pro-rata May-December). The first full year of the trade deal, from 2025, allows 5,911 tonnes of fresh, and 10,978 tonnes of frozen sheep meat to enter the EU.

Isabelle Shohet| AHDB

Also:

NZ and EU trade agreement to take effect on May 1

French farmers up in arms over EU free-trade agreements

EU-NZ trade deal to make ‘an already bad situation worse’ for Irish sheep farmers

Sheep Meat Trade between the UK and Australia: Current State and Future Outlook

‘Let’s Change Lamb’ campaign helps drive demand in France

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has announced it will be participating in a French promotional campaign to drive demand for lamb among younger consumers.

France is the UK’s largest market for lamb with exports of sheep meat to France from the UK in 2023 increasing by 23% in value on the year to £292 million and 23% in volume 45,000 tonnes.

AHDB has partnered with Interbev – the National Interprofessional of Livestock and Meat in France – to deliver the ‘Let’s Change Lamb’ campaign in Hauts de France. The campaign aims to upskill butchers and focus on smaller cuts to help drive demand among younger French consumers and will provide AHDB’s team in France with the ideal platform to further promote English lamb in a key market.

A series of events will be held in the region over the next year, including seminars on how to maximise carcase value and adopting innovative merchandising techniques, as well as education on seam butchery to help improve yield.

Around 50 butchers in Hauts de France sell St George-branded English lamb, a region which is also home to some major importers of English lamb.

Lucille Brillaud, AHDB France marketing and communication manager, said: “France imports more than 50% of lamb consumed in the country. It is also the UK’s biggest export market for lamb. The UK is therefore a critical supplier to the French market.”

Meat Management

Farming unions call on food retailers to ‘back British’

UK farming unions have called on retailers to support industry in response to “challenging and disruptive” weather this spring.

In a joint letter on behalf of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), NFU Scotland, NFU Cymru and Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), the trade bodies looked to major retailers to support the industry.

The letter stated: “These challenges come at a time when many of our members are already struggling to remain viable due to the perfect storm of sustained and spiralling production costs, low market returns and increasing levels of regulation. This latest challenge, whilst not new, is more acute than ever, and is compounding the pressure on our members.

“Farmers and growers continue to bear the lion’s share of the rusk within their supply chains, and this is unsustainable. We are in discussions with our respective Governments on further support to assist the industry in navigating these short-term challenges, but we also recognise the important role which retailers have to play in helping the industry to withstand this latest crisis.”

Meat Management

Slow down in China’s beef demand hits key suppliers

China’s beef imports are dwindling amid slowing consumption and ample domestic supply, dealing a blow to its biggest supplier, Brazil.

Official data shows the value of China beef imports fell last year for the first time since at least 2016, with prices plunging to the lowest level in almost three years. Import volumes are expected to fall 4pc this year, ending 12 straight years of meteoric rise, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

The predicament highlights the risks in relying heavily on a single customer: China was the destination for more than 52pc of the South American country’s beef sales last year even after halting imports for roughly two months over a case of mad cow disease. While the nation’s meatpackers have sought to diversify their exports, alternatives remain limited.

“Brazil depends a lot on China – if there’s a hiccup in China, it will affect Brazil very badly,” said XP Investimentos analyst Leonardo Alencar.

China’s share in the global meat trade has plunged from a 2020 peak following an increase in domestic meat supplies. The nation is expected to produce 7.7 million metric tons this year, up 1 million tons from 2020, according to the USDA. An economic slowdown has prompted consumers to seek cheaper proteins.

Clarice Couto and Gerson Freitas | Irish Independent

Also:

Brazil says China clears 38 more meat plants for export

Lula Reunites With JBS Brothers as Brazil’s China Ties Deepen

First shipment of Russian pork arrives in China

NZ and EU trade agreement to take effect on May 1

SYDNEY, March 25 (Reuters) – New Zealand said on Monday a free trade agreement with the European Union would come into effect on May 1, after the country’s parliament ratified the deal.

New Zealand notified the European Union it ratified the agreement earlier on Monday, Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said in a statement.

Wellington and Brussels signed the deal in July 2023, with the European Parliament ratifying its side of the agreement in November.

New Zealand expects the deal to benefit its beef, lamb, butter and cheese industries, as well as removing tariffs on other exports like its iconic kiwi fruit.

The EU will see tariffs lifted on its exports including clothing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and cars, as well as wine and confectionary.

The EU is New Zealand’s fourth-largest trade partner, according to government data, with two-way goods and services trade worth NZ$20.2 billion ($12.10 billion) in 2022.

Alasdair Pal | Reuters

UK announces the launch of free trade agreement negotiations with Australia and New Zealand

AUS/NZ-UK free trade agreement comes into force 31st May

UK ‘closing in’ on NZ free trade deal

Meat wholesaler Macduff 1890 ceases operations

The family-owned, fourth-generation meat wholesale company Macduff 1890, under the leadership of Andrew Duff, the great-grandson of its founder, has ceased operations and closed.

Andrew Duff expressed his great disappointment that trading conditions had given him no other option,

He explained: “On Friday, March 15, Macduff 1890 ceased its operations, and it’s a decision made with deep sadness. I’ve personally contacted all our suppliers and customers to apprise them of the situation and to let them know that our doors are now closed.

“My personal passion has always been centred around championing rare and native breeds, and I earnestly hope that another firm within the meat industry will carry forward this passion.”

SAMW executive manager Scott Walker said: “It is very sad to see the closure of a long-established meat wholesale business. This is a reflection of the thin operating margins which the entire industry operates on and the challenging conditions the industry has faced in recent years.”

Kelly Henaughen | The Scottish Farmer

Scottish farmers demand clarity on £40m beef support scheme

NFU Scotland has called again on the Scottish Government to urgently bring forward details of its proposed reform of the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS).

Government has confirmed that the scheme, currently worth £40 million, will be a feature of future support arrangements in Scotland.

Payments to eligible calves under the current scheme year are imminent but proposed changes to the scheme rules for 2025 and beyond, including the introduction of calving interval rules, have yet to be shared with the industry.

NFU Scotland wants the reformed SSBSS to include the following:

• The budget should be retained and continue to be delivered in the same cyclical manner

• Split payments between meeting existing eligibility criteria and new conditionality

• A mechanism for recognition of pre-registration of stillborn calves

• For a ‘force majeure’ option to be available for any producers affected by unforeseen or exceptional circumstances.

NFU Scotland livestock chair Hugh Fraser said: “We continue to ask for clarity on this vital scheme for those producing beef calves in Scotland. It is not feasible, fair nor realistic for the industry to operate on speculation.

“With payments under the 2023 scheme expected in bank accounts soon, the importance of a clear and timely announcement on arrangements for the new scheme year are essential. [The] Scottish Government must give explicit clarity on their expectations for suckler beef producers so that we can have some certainty”.

By Alec Ross | The Herald Scotland

Florida bans lab-grown meat

Florida became the first state to ban cultivated meat, which is made by replicating the cells of real meat without the need to actually raise and slaughter the animal, The Free Press has reported.

Other states, including Arizona, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Alabama are considering similar bans.

It was on March 6, the Florida House of Representatives passed legislation prohibiting the manufacture and sale of cultivated, or “lab-grown,” meat in Florida, The Free Press added.

Federal agencies have deemed lab-grown, or cultivated, meat safe to eat. But the legislation, supported by the state’s agriculture industry, “pumps the brakes” on the food to ensure it is safe, the report noted.

An earlier version of the bill would have prohibited research into cultivated meat, but concerns were raised that doing so could affect the space industry, which is looking at cultivated meat for long-term space journeys, the health news noted.

The New Indian Express

USA: Florida Legislature continues to show no taste for cultivated meat

Lab Grown Lamb On The Way

Welsh lamb to be showcased in the US

Welsh red meat exporters will be heading across the Atlantic to promote PGI Welsh Lamb on a trade visit facilitated by Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC).

Welsh lamb will feature at the Annual Meat Conference (AMC) which this year is taking place in Nashville, Tennessee between March 18 and 20, and more than 1,900 delegates from across the US meat sector are expected to attend.

HCC’s Head of Strategic Marketing and Connections, Laura Pickup, said: “AMC is the key event in the American meat calendar and it is vital that HCC is there to develop demand in this priority market to secure a prosperous future for Welsh farmers and exporters.

“Welsh Lamb is a premium product that boasts exceptional taste and sustainability credentials. It is produced with pride by Welsh farmers and offers some of the highest sustainability and animal welfare credentials within the global marketplace. This all adds to Welsh Lamb’s superior taste and eating experience.”

Brecon & Radnor Express

Python ‘tastes like chicken and should be part of our diet’

Python meat should be seen as a serious alternative to chicken and beef because of its environmental benefits, according to a scientific study.

Academics say the non-venomous snakes require less food than traditional livestock such as pigs or cattle and can grow at a faster rate during farming.

Dr Daniel Natusch, an honorary research fellow at Macquarie University in Sydney, has suggested its meat should be introduced to restaurant menus, adding he himself is a fan.

“At the risk of repeating a cliché, it tastes a lot like chicken,” said Dr Natusch. “You run the knife along the back of the snake and you almost get a four-metre-long filleted steak. Firm white meat, no bones. I’ve had it barbecued, in curries, as biltong and, yeah, it’s great.”

His study, published in the Scientific Reports journal, examined the growth rates and diets of more than 4,000 reticulated and Burmese pythons at two large farms in Thailand and Vietnam.

Dr Natusch found that a well-fed baby python can double in size in a matter of weeks, and can put on more than 45 grams of body weight a day, reaching up to four metres long after a year.

Albert Tait | The Telegraph

Potential impact on the EU

See also: UK’s native sheep breeds in spotlight following US taste test