That figure represents a massive 53% increase on the year before, and comes as the traditional United Kingdom market experienced a 7% decline.
This quantity easily places China as NZ’s No 1 sheep meat market, even more than the combined European Union market, and also has NZ placed as the key supplier of sheep meat to China.
NZ sits ahead of Australia which exported 100,000t in 2013, and the China market has gone from only 4% of NZ’s sheep meat trade in 2000 to 40% for 2014.
With the global flock remaining on a slight downward slide in numbers, indications are that the ever tightening supply and continuing growth in Chinese appetite will ensure prices continue to remain firm for at least the next season.
Rabobank sheep meat analyst Matt Costello said indications are that the NZ flock has now fallen below 30 million sheep, raising longer term concerns, but supplies this year remain more consistent and price patterns are emerging this season that indicate a greater evenness within the market for supplies to the growing Chinese market.
“Looking across both NZ and Australia there appears to be a smoother pattern within the market, without those real peaks and troughs we have seen in the past.”
An absence of any widespread climatic events in past months – aside from the more defined drought in the North Island – has meant producers have been able to pick up stock as required, while farmers have felt less compelled by weather conditions to force stock on to the market.
This relative stability in supply, and a market hungry for red meat, ensures analysts including Costello are optimistic about the Australasian sheep meat sector, at least in the immediate future.
Much has been made about the growth in lower-value cut sales to China for use in hot pot cooking, a meal 66% of urban Chinese say they eat at least once a month. The result has been that lamb flaps that used to retail for about $1.50 only eight years ago have moved as high as $6.75/kg, chasing the gap with lamb leg.
As an indication of how dynamic the Chinese market is, carcase export has also grown significantly in the past year.
Quality and safety issues have halted expansion plans for some Chinese food outlets recently.
