August 16, 2010

New Zealand's July beef exports climb on Asian sales

New Zealand (NZ) beef exports in July rose 2% on-year to 28,566 tonnes swt, on the back of strong demand in South-east Asia, Japan and Korea.

NZ's largest market for beef, the US, was a less attractive option for NZ exporters, down 12% to 10,107 tonnes, despite firm demand and unseasonably high imported beef prices in that market.

Total beef exports for the year to July were up 2% to 260,797 tonnes, according to NZ Meat Board and NZX Agrifax.

Strong demand in Indonesia for frozen beef continued in July as Ramadan approached, pushing exports to South-east Asia up 46% on-year to 5,213 tonnes. Beef exports to Japan leapt 40% on-year to 3,269 tonnes, while Korea bound beef increased 24% to 3,440 tonnes, as consumer demand remained firm.