After years of banning Brazilian beef, it seems that the U.S. and Brazil have quelled their differences and as the number of U.S. beef cattle is in decline, the U.S. has agreed to allow the importation of beef from 13 Brazilian states. Brazil is set to become a major supplier of beef to the U.S. putting pressure on New Zealand’s market share as the U.S.is New Zealand’s number one export market for beef. China’s beef industry is also in distress as demand for imports is soaring. Major outbreaks of foot and mouth disease, wholesale beef prices doubling in the last five years, and urbanization causing a lack of agricultural labor and the obsolescence of the small-scale farm have cause havoc as demand from urban centers in the country continues to increase as cattle numbers in some provinces have decreased by as much as 50%. New Zealand beef sales to China have gone from almost non-existent to equaling more than sales to Japan or Korea, New Zealand’s traditional second and third biggest markets after the U.S. Another shift on the horizon is the acceptance and use of sex-selected sperm in the New Zealand dairy industry. Long used in the U.S., the best dairy cows would be bred to female-selected sperm from dairy breeds and the remainder of the cows would be bred to male-selected sperm from beef breeds cutting wastage and creating new beef production opportunities in the country.
To receive relevant news stories with summaries provided by GAI Research & Insight, subscribe to Global AgDevelopments, our free bi-weekly enhanced eNews service