The inaugural Red Meat Report, published by Beef + Lamb NZ and the Meat Industry Association (MIA), aims to provide MPs, Government officials, farmers and other industry stakeholders an overview of key priorities within the New Zealand red meat sector in areas such as trade, the environment, research, and people and capability.
It’s been an unprecedented and challenging year so far, but the report’s authors say the sector is proud of the way it has responded to covid-19, while also managing drought and feed issues across much of the country.
Working together helped the sector deal with those challenges but the report acknowledges that the post-covid world is going to be very different.
B+LNZ chief executive Sam McIvor says global markets and consumers are making large shifts in how they maintain food security, purchase food, and the attributes of the products they are seeking.
“This creates both threats and opportunities for the sector and we need bold thinking to enable our sector to continue to thrive in the new normal,” he said.
MIA chief executive Sirma Karapeeva says collaboration across the red meat sector has never been stronger, which will be increasingly important.
“Now, more than ever, our sector must collaborate,” she said. “This is critical to our success.”
To help plan the way ahead the sector is working on a whole of sector strategy refresh, following the creation of its original strategy in 2011.
The refreshed strategy will focus on the next five years and, in particular, how to successfully position the sector to navigate the post-covid environment so that the sector can maximise its contribution to the NZ economic recovery for the benefit of all New Zealanders.
The strategy refresh is being led by B+LNZ and the MIA, with input from individual meat processors. Broader outreach to the wider sector for input is planned in coming weeks.
Despite the turmoil created by covid, the report says fundamentals for NZ red meat remain strong, with analysis indicating demand for natural, grass-fed red meat has increased as a result of the global pandemic.
It says research from China, and insight from North America, has shown that consumers are increasingly seeking out healthy, nutritious food to boost their immunity and wellbeing with natural attributes a key driver.
“There is a strong link with these trends and product attributes that our target consumer segment, the Conscious Foodie, believes are important,” the report said.
These include grass-fed, free from antibiotics, lean and no hormonal growth promotants.
Covid-19 provides a window of opportunity to, in partnership with processors and exporters, establish the NZ grass-fed story through Taste Pure Nature in support of company-specific brands.
“It will also enable us to improve our sector’s reputation with the public in NZ and offshore,” the report said.
It’s expected future editions of the Red Meat Report will be published every six months or so.
More information can be found here.
