Jamie Mackay: The Country host on the US launching safeguard investigation into NZ lamb imports

Meat industry leaders are disappointed with the United States’ move to initiate a safeguard investigation into lamb imports from New Zealand and Australia.

The investigation, to be carried out by the US’s International Trade Commission, is expected to take up to six months to complete.

The Country's Jamie Mackay explained further.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, Jamie cat I hear that not a great day
to be a ship farmer. No, well, it hasn't been
a great week in some ways to be a farmer.
Earlier in the week, and I think we talked about
this one on Tuesday night, Fonterra dropped its forecast milk
price by fifty cents. Well, today it's the turn for
the sheep farmer's. Strong wall market, which has made great

(00:21):
recovery in the past six months or so, took a
bit of a slide today. And when I say it slide,
it was a reasonable one strong will indicated down sixty
two cents. That's nearly ten percent and only sixty two
percent sold, so that means thirty eight percent was passed.
And now the wall market experienced, as I said, very

(00:41):
strong markets, especially during May and June. It was hoped
that there would be a leveling of prices following those
strong gains, but no, the market slumped quite a bit today.
Most European mills are closed for the summer holidays. It's
that hot over there. They probably don't want to sit
around on a computer and buy wall In New Zealand.

(01:02):
As for China and India, they appear to be taking
a wait and see approach. The speed and volatilility of
these price movements is creating a bit of a challenge,
not surprisingly for war growers, brokers and exporters. And that
is quoting the PGG rights and report hot off the
press tonight. So hopefully it's a glitch in the market,
because honestly, that's been in Achilles Hill for farming and

(01:26):
for sheep farmers, the fact that strong wool especially we
go back to COVID times it was worth nothing, absolutely nothing,
and farmers were having to pay quite a bit more
to get it off than what they could to sell it.
It's gone up markedly, So, as I said, hopefully this
is just a glitch. So what's the situation with lamb
in the US here, Well, there's another bad news story,

(01:47):
I guess for sheep farmers. Meat industry leaders, namely beef
and Lamb. New Zealand and the Meat Industry Association disappointed
that the US has decided to initiate a safeguards investigation
into lamb imports from Australia and New Zealand. We're not
alone in this one. The investigation is going to be

(02:07):
carried out by the US's International Trade Commission. It's expected
to take up to six months. It will determine whether
imports ie from New Zealand and Australia are causing or
threatening to cause serious industry injuries. Should I say to
the US lamb industry any decision to restrict imports could
include tariffs that dirty word or quota limits And it sits.

(02:31):
And this is even more of a worry in the
hands of the US President. New Zealand lamb, of course,
currently faces a ten percent tariff in the US. Now
the US is saying we're undercutting them in the market.
They're saying between twenty twenty and twenty twenty four imports
surged by forty five percent. They now account for seventy

(02:54):
percent of the US market. But beef and lamb New
Zealand and the Meat Industry Association, in a joint statement,
said that's bollocks. The average selling price in the US
for New Zealand lamb is twenty two bucks aquilo. That
compares to the industry's global average of fourteen dollars aequilo. Look,
the sheep meat industry in the US is very small,

(03:16):
it's a very minor player. This is just an excuse
for Trump to chuck another tariff on US. Oh geez,
he loves it. Ay, Jamie, thanks very much mate. We'll
talk to you next week. Enjoy your weekend that is
Jamie McKay. A weekend starts with him today, obviously Jamie McKay,
host of the Country. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive,
listen live to news Talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.