New Zealand: Flood of Aussie lamb bites into Kiwi on-farm profitability

Low returns for lamb and sheep coupled with significant hikes in input costs and ever-rising interest rates means Kiwi meat producers are facing the lowest farm profits in close to two decades. The New Zealand industry's research and development body, Beef and Lamb NZ, says the expected profitability for this financial year will be broadly similar to the 1980s, adjusting for inflation. It's mid-season update paints an outlook that has worsened from six months ago. While the sluggish Chinese economy is probably the biggest driver pushing Kiwi sheep meat prices south, Australian lamb flooding the market because producers here sold in big numbers ahead of an El Nino prediction that did not eventuate has also played a big role. An excellent lamb crop in spring 2023 will see bigger numbers of lambs to sell, but while more lambs to sell is helpful it doesn't offset the low prices, Kiwi producers say. For farmers like Dean and Sarah Rabbidge and Ed Pinckney and Harriet Bremner-Pinckney, ...