The current dynamics in the US beef market spell good news for New Zealand

The news from exporters continues to be positive for bull farmers. The United States market for manufacturing beef fell away noticeably in the fourth quarter of last year, but has been on an upwards trajectory since, really gaining pace since the start of February. Prices for the US’s own lean grinding beef have lifted US24c/lb since mid-December, and the imported market that New Zealand trades on has jumped by a similar margin. Once you factor in the better exchange rate, imported 95CL bull meat is paying around NZ$1.70/kg more than at that low point in December, and imported 90CL cow meat is up $1.10kg since then. The main driver here is the US cow kill, or rather what it’s expected to do over the coming months. Much of the US experienced severe drought for an extended period over the past year or two. With beef breeders having to reduce numbers to manage feed, that sent the cow kill through the roof. In the year to late-January, cow slaughter tallies were the highest since at ...