USDA revises NZ beef exports down for 2024
Beef exports revised down to 690,000 MT CWE
11 November 2024
2 minute read
By: The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service post in New Zealand has revised down its forecast for beef and veal exports in 2024 MY from the USDA Official to 690,000 MT CWE, according to a recent US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report.
This still represents the largest volume of beef and veal exported in a single year for New Zealand. The revised forecast is due to the slightly lower than anticipated beef production in the first half of the MY. In addition, exports in May and June being less than anticipated, primarily due to a decrease in demand from China for New Zealand beef.
In the first seven months of the 2024 MY, export volumes to China are down 26% year-on-year (less 42,946 MT CWE). This has had a substantial impact, as China, in 2023, was the largest customer by volume (37% of total volume).
Feedback from the industry is that this reduction is a result of economic challenges resulting in Chinese markets sourcing cheaper beef and veal products from South America.
Alternatively, New Zealand exporters in the first seven months of 2024 MY have seen growth in markets in the United States (6% or 10,708 MT CWE increase), Japan, Canada, and ASEAN countries. This changes the proportion of New Zealand’s global beef and veal customers year-to-date, from previous years.
New Zealand has had a trade quota on volume with the United States of 213,402 MT CWE on meat, excluding offal, since amended in 2006. The Quota Year runs from January 1 to December 31. The current MY has seen increased volumes exported in the past seven months and is on track to reach the quota limit much faster than the previous two MY.
