February 15, 2007

New Zealand beef exports up in January

New Zealand's beef exports for January increased by 16 percent from last year's level to hit 36,274 tonnes swt.

The rise in shipments for the month was driven by South Korea and Taiwan, while exports to the US remained steady, reported New Zealand Meat Board.

Exports to South Korea for January increased by 73 percent to 5,932 tonnes swt. Following on from a reduction in exports to Japan during December, shipments in January fell 14 percent from year ago levels, to 2,795 tonnes swt.

Shipments to the US stood at 15,918 tonnes swt, a slight increase on January 2006 levels while that to Canada fell back 28 percent to 1,886 tonnes swt.