Record low volume of NZ lamb sent to UK
New Zealand lamb exporters are eschewing the weak UK market in favour of more lucrative trading destinations, pushing the volume of meat sent to what was once the nation’s biggest export market to a record low last month, says AgriHQ.
“The UK lamb market is slowly becoming less pivotal to NZ exporters,” AgriHQ analyst Reece Brick said in his monthly Sheep & Beef report.
“A steady decline in lamb consumption combined with a loss of economic confidence following Brexit has resulted in a challenging market environment. Exporters have largely chosen to divert their product to higher-paying markets, and this will be a strategy that increases over time.”
Just 1274 tonnes of NZ frozen lamb went to the UK in August, the lowest monthly volume since AgriHQ records began in December 2006.
Across July and August, NZ frozen lamb exports to the UK were down 32 per cent on a year ago and 38 per cent behind the five-year average.
Similarly, NZ lamb exports to continental Europe fell 11 per cent to 2946 tonnes in August, the lowest for August since AgriHQ records began in 2006.
Exporters had focused on the chilled trade to the UK, which was still achieving solid prices, Brick said. Prices for chilled lamb for the Christmas trade were likely to be ahead of last year as customers sought to secure product after a scarce supply last year.
UK and continental Europe prices were likely to adjust as supply from New Zealand increased and production reverted to frozen, but would remain at historically high levels, he said.