May 19, 2004

 

 

New Zealand, Australia Lamb Exports Increase In Japan

 

The ban on imports of U.S. beef and this year's outbreak of bird flu sent Japanese consumers scrambling for other sources of protein. Australian and New Zealand lamb marketers saw a chance to get their products into Japanese kitchens.

 

The two countries supply 99% of Japan's lamb, with the remainder coming from the United States and Iceland.

 

In the first quarter of 2004, New Zealand's lamb exports to Japan skyrocketed to a record 3,317 tons, an increase of 71% on 1,936 tons in the same period last year. The month of March saw a record 1,242 tons exported, up 35% on 923 tons in March 2003.

 

"Certainly there's a stronger demand for lamb now," industry body Meat New Zealand's Japan representative John Hundleby said.

 

"It's not just in the last quarter, but in the past 18 months there's been a renewed interest in lamb," he said.

 

"The U.S. situation has added a bit of fuel to the fire. It has increased opportunities for lamb," Hundleby said, referring to Japan's ban on U.S. beef imports introduced in December 2003, after a Holstein in Washington State was found to be infected with mad cow disease - bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

 

"Supermarkets are struggling to fill their shelves with meat and lamb is a good alternative."

 

However, lamb is still the "poor relative" in the Japanese meat market, he said. "We want to make lamb the fourth meat in the Japanese diet behind pork, chicken and beef."

 

Anzco Foods, a major New Zealand meat processor, embarked on a marketing campaign 18 months ago to promote lamb in Japan.

 

"They focused on the health aspect of lamb, that it is low fat and nutritious. The campaign got a lot of media attention and it raised the recognition of lamb in Japan," Hundleby said.

 

Many Japanese consumers shunned beef after the first discovery of BSE in Japan in 2001. "Although beef is still the preferred meat in Japan, the series of health concerns has made people think twice," he said.

 

When Japan's first case of bird flu in 79 years was discovered in January in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japanese avoided buying or eating chicken.

 

"Three out of four of the main chicken suppliers were affected," Hundleby said. "So that enhanced what was already happening in the lamb market."

 

Despite recent records, New Zealand annual lamb exports to Japan in previous years are far below a peak of 18,222 tons in 1990. Since then, exports have fluctuated between about 8,000 and 12,000 tons a year.

 

The plunge in exports followed the liberalization of Japan's beef market in 1991, Hundleby explains. "For the first time, the Japanese meat trade could access whatever quantities they wanted. A lot of companies that were handing lamb decided to dedicate their fridge space to beef."

 

Clawing back lost ground in the market has been a hard task.

 

In recent years lamb has become a much higher valued product increasing from NZ$3,873 ($2,357) per ton in 1999 to NZ$6,750 in 2003.

 

"In markets like Europe lamb is sought after and people are prepared to pay high prices. There is not the same recognition in Japan so they do not match the prices other markets are prepared to pay," Hundleby said.

 

The price of lamb has increased because the type of meat exported has changed, said Linda Wilson, Japan market manager for industry body Meat and Livestock Australia.

 

"Lamb used to be sold in carcass form and there was a lot of waste, but now more than 50% is boneless." she said. "To remove the bone takes labor, so the meat is more expensive."

 

Australian exports to Japan have been growing steadily since 1998 when the U.S. imposed a quota on lamb imports, and the Australian government responded by funding a promotion of lamb into other markets, Wilson said. "So there was a lot more focus from Australia on Japan."

 

Japan is now Australia's third largest market in value terms. Since 1998 Australian lamb exports to Japan have increased 84% in value and 34% in volume. Last year Australia exported 5,600 tons of lamb worth A$42 million ($29 million).

 

Market conditions are right for the promotion of lamb into Japan, and Meat and Livestock expect exports to grow significantly, Wilson said. "Exporters are reporting fervent interest."