Friday, March 29, 2024

MIA big guns next up in China

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Meat Industry Association leaders are going to China in the first week of November to push for regulatory approvals for more New Zealand companies and meat plants to export chilled products there.
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It follows a successful visit by a smaller technical team in late September that made clear NZ’s keenness to partner with the Chinese industry to help modernise and improve supply chain systems, including cold store infrastructure, the association’s trade and economic manager Sirma Karapeeva said.

She led that team and the message received was that faced with the African swine fever outbreak  reducing pork supply by 30% according to official estimates, and facing a five to 10 year recovery, the Chinese government is very focused on modernising the whole sector.

That visit was designed to build a strong relationship with the association’s counterpart, the China Meat Association (CMA).

“We told them we’ve got a lot to offer in technical expertise, in meat hygiene and setting standards.

“Our impression was that they are looking to the global village to draw expertise from and that is a positive sign,” she said.

Now the bigger group, led by association chairman John Loughlin and including processing and export  company chief executives, will seek a breakthrough with regulators.

Only 10 NZ plants, owned by six companies, are certified to export chilled beef and lamb to China, which is unfair on the companies not approved, given how dynamic the market is, Karapeeva said. 

“It’s important for all our members that we have a level playing field for everyone.”

The delegation hopes talks with regulators will open doors to government decision-makers.

China is NZ’s biggest red meat market but it is overwhelmingly frozen product.

United Kingdom beef plants have just been certified for chilled exports and Karapeeva said the association hopes that signals the Chinese are working through the application process.

“They are heavily dependent on South American supply of beef and are looking to diversify so we hope this is a positive for us.”

The UK will be another competitor but Chinese beef import demand has grown at 50% in the last two years.

Karapeeva’s delegation found a lot of interest in NZ products and the NZ industry among large companies and importers.

“They all want meat products because there is a shortage and there is a particular interest in NZ red meat because there is a good understanding and appreciation of the quality and food safety and that it is a premium product.”

NZ has a challenge because Chinese consumers are used to the taste of grain-fed meat, such as supplied from Australia, so there is work to do educating them about the grass-fed value. 

“This is a good challenge to have because affluent consumers are looking for new experiences.”

In Chengdu in southwest China, a tier-two city moving towards tier-one status, the delegation visited a high-end supermarket selling a range of NZ meats, seafood and kiwifruit.

Karapeeva said the supermarket runs an online/offline business model with many consumers placing regular small orders for fresh items, rather than doing one weekly shop, by their mobile phones and getting delivery by moped within 30 minutes.  E-commerce is driving consumer preferences.

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