Meat & Wool NZ and meat exporters tackle China

Meat & Wool New Zealand and meat exporters tackle Chinese market

Meat &Wool New Zealand has joined with three meat exporters Alliance Group Ltd, ANZCO Foods Ltd and Silver Fern Farms Ltd to identify opportunities for New Zealand red meat in China’s super premium food sector.

“For some time, China has been a significant market, particularly for lower value sheepmeat items,” says Meat & Wool New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Dr Scott Champion.

“However, there has not been a collective approach as to how the high-value Asian market could be developed, so the initiation of this project is a very significant step for the wider industry as it seeks to build new market opportunities for the future.”

The project follows on from market research carried out last year by Meat & Wool New Zealand and the meat exporters involved in the latest initiative.

The initial priority was to identify what opportunities existed for lamb in the emerging markets of Russia, India, China, and Eastern Europe. The market research suggested that of these markets, China holds the most immediate opportunity when assessed against a number of key market and consumer based criteria.

“While the analysis may have identified China as the most attractive potential market for high-value New Zealand red meat products, there are many steps between matching the market potential and the longer term diversification objectives of the New Zealand red meat industry,” says Dr Champion. This project aims to address a number of those.

The initial focus of the Emerging Markets Project is a market audit and evaluation which is expected to be complete by May 2009.

“The market audit will include a more detailed study of the red meat market in China. We anticipate that it will identify the geographic focus, confirm the market potential, and identify several strategies for delivering benefit back to the New Zealand farmer.”

The project is to be partially funded by New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, the collaborative activity in a key growth market being aligned with the Government response to the recommendations of the Food and Beverage Taskforce.

Meat &Wool New Zealand, Alliance Group Ltd, ANZCO Foods Ltd and Silver Fern Farms Ltd have agreed to jointly fund the remainder of the research.

ENDS

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