The United States is New Zealand's second most valuable market for red meat, according to an analysis by the Meat Industry Association.
The value of sheepmeat exports to the US was up 12 per cent for the year ending September 2019 or nearly $3 per/kg more than in 2017/18.
The
volume of sheepmeat exports to the country fell 5 per cent. The value of beef exports to the US declined by 24 per cent (to $966.2m) for the year ending September 2019, reflecting the growth in demand from China.
"The rise in value of sheepmeat exports to the US is particularly pleasing and reflects the fact the country is a premium market and especially important for New Zealand's high-quality high-value middle cuts such as racks" said Meat Industry Association Chief Executive Tim Ritchie.
The trend has continued into the month of October with the average value of sheepmeat exports to the US at $18.97 for October, well above China at $9.32/kg, and the UK at $10.54/kg. These variations in value reflected the different markets' preferences for different cuts.
