Nathan Guy: Meat Industry Association Chair on the strong demand for red meat exports

Our red meat sector's continuing to see strong international demand. 

Latest data from the Meat Industry Association shows the value of our red meat exports in September was up 29% on September last year. 

Exports to the US were up 25%, despite the introduction of Donald Trump's tariffs. 

Association Chair Nathan Guy told Andrew Dickens that while they thought the tariffs would be problematic, in reality, demand has been really strong.  

He says there’s a strong hamburger market in the States and New Zealand exporters are filling that market with quality product.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So hes some good news for you. It looks like
our red meat industry might have survived despite Trump's tariffs.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
For now.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
In New Zealand's red meat exports jumped way for this
twenty nine percent in September to seven hundred and thirteen million.
Overall exports for the third quarter hit two point twenty
seven billion. That's up twenty percent on last year. Nathan
guy is the Meat Industry Associations share and joins me. Now,
good morning to here, Nathan.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yes, good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
This is looking pretty good for the full year figures,
isn't it.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Oh, it's fantastic. Yes, it's been a couple of lean
years for our farmers when we look back and they're
really celebrating returns at the moment, and so are our processes.
So there's a lot of optimism right across the primary sect.
They're particularly in the red meat sector. So fighting times
all right.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
So we with these figures are surprised you given all
the negative factors that have been influencing.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well, there's always geopolitical issues and headwinds that exporters have
to face in the US. It's been interesting times, hasn't it.
Because we've seen the Tara ten percent, and everyone thought
that was sort of doomsday. And then fifteen percent, we
also thought, oh gosh, that's going to be really problematic
for our exporters. The reality is the demand's been really strong,

(01:13):
and yes there's been a few arm wrestles at the
border right here with customers who want to force the
fifteen percent back on our processes here and returns for
our processes. Quite often they play a high volume game
and if they can get high returns, then they win.
But at times it's quite lean returns, so they're excited

(01:33):
that they're actually winning at the moment. That's because Ken,
I'm just going to say sorry, that's because the demand
is particularly strong. They've had a couple of very bad
droughts in the US and they're heard rebuild is going
to still take a few years to actually flow through.
So we're very fortunate that we produce high quality red meat.

(01:54):
Consumers love what we do. There's a very strong hamburger
market up there, tree burgers per head per week they consume,
so it's a bit like a staple for us here
in n Z. And then certainly we're filling that market
for US consumers, and we also do high value products
on the both sides of the US as well.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
So the the big positives here are the EU up
fifty percent and China up twenty seven percent, and bizarrely,
North America beef exports are down. So what's happening with
the United States.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Well, I think we've gone through a period with a
fifteen percent tariff where export has just sat and waited
for a while and wondered what would happen, And then
they realized that there's still huge demand up there in
the US. So that's why the volume numbers have come
back a little bit. But the value still is incredibly high.
And exports always go where the money is. That's their job,

(02:52):
and they can, you know, almost been on a dime,
not quite, but they realize that there's money to be
made in the US. It's great that age is coming
back on stream. China looks like it's having a few
green shoots. Your economies are starting to move, so overall,
very good times for our processes and that's flying through

(03:13):
to farmers as well.

Speaker 1 (03:14):
So how sustainable is this? Will it continue or will
finally the tariff's splint.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
Well, demand's still looking good. Whether things change in time,
I think it's going to take a few years for
them to rebuild their herd in the US. There is
some pressure there always has been from South American countries,
and we follow the geopolitical stuff very closely. We saw
that President she and President Trump had a reasonable meeting

(03:44):
last week. It's quite a bit of Brazilian brief that's
not going into the US, that's going into China, so
there's all sorts of things at play. We're very pleased
at Prime Minister Luxe and how to face to face
meeting with President Trump that's in a while coming, and
it sounded as it was extremely successful. So we tip

(04:04):
our hat to the Prime Minister and Todd McLay and
the work that they're doing in the trade space.

Speaker 1 (04:09):
And I tip my hat to the farmers, Nathan, who
are doing great jobs. And you know, if America grows
and EU and China carries on, this is only good days.
And I thank you so much for your time. That
is Nathan Guy for more fam Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
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