Meat industry leaders say a special visa category is needed to ensure New Zealand’s lucrative halal meat exports continue their strong growth.
Halal-certified red meat exports increased 13% during the 2020-21 season, with most product going to non-Muslim markets, according to an analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
NZ exported 471,072 tonnes of halal product during the season (12 months ending September 30) – 46.5% of total red meat and offal exports.
This compared to 417,323t during 2019-20.
China was the largest market for NZ halal-certified red meat, purchasing 341,618t, 74% of the total and a 23% increase on the previous year.
The United States was the second-highest with 20,042t, followed by Canada’s 18,945t, Indonesia with 17,604t, Saudi Arabia with 7710t and Malaysia with 7289t.
Demand has more than doubled since 2015-16, when halal-certified red meat exports totalled 232,328t.
Halal certification is a market access requirement in regions such as the Middle East, whereas in other countries, certification is a response to consumer demand.
MIA chief executive Sirma Karapeeva says the growth in halal-certified exports highlighted the critical importance of the halal sector and its small but important workforce in New Zealand.
“As an industry, we need some 250 qualified Muslim butchers in order to operate halal processing at capacity,” Karapeeva said.
“Our challenge is that New Zealand’s Muslim community is very small and it limits our opportunities to fully recruit domestically. Approximately 100 NZ resident halal workers are recruited each year through a national recruitment drive.
“Despite this, we have to look to migrant workers to fill the remaining approximate 150 halal butcher positions around the country, and covid-19 has made this increasingly difficult.
“This represents less than 1% of the total meat industry workforce, but contributes to around 40% of our sector’s export revenue.
“In discussions with government, we have consistently set out the arguments for allowing a very small number of migrants to come to New Zealand to support our industry to continue to contribute to New Zealand’s economic wellbeing.
“While the Government made some changes to immigration settings with the residence pathway in September, the industry is seeking an enduring solution that would facilitate the entry of migrant halal butchers such as a special visa category for them.”
