February 19, 2013

During January 2013, New Zealand's beef exports lifted 23% on-year, to 31,061 tonnes swt – the largest January volume since 2008.

The main destination for New Zealand beef was the US, which is a large market for lean cow and bull beef from dairy cattle. In January, 16,434 tonnes were shipped to the US, 57% more than last year (Beef + Lamb NZ).

Japan and Korea remain key markets for New Zealand beef exports, both growing relative to last year, Japan up 24%, to 2,474 tonnes swt and Korea up 13%, to 2,382 tonnes swt. Japan traditionally takes a mix of manufacturing beef and both chilled and frozen boneless beef, while Korea is a market for frozen beef, both bone-in and boneless.

The big growth market for New Zealand beef in recent months has been China, with 2,315 tonnes swt in January, up 690% on-year. In fact, the last three months (November-January) has seen more beef exported from New Zealand to China than the preceding 12 months. Most of this product has been frozen boneless and manufacturing beef.