ANZCO Foods Market Update - June 2026

There has been very little change across global markets during the past month, with the fundamental demand/supply balance largely unchanged.

The prospect of a potential agreement between the US and Iran that would allow oil to move freely through the Strait of Hormuz is encouraging. Should such a deal hold, it would restore a degree of confidence for markets and consumers moving forward.

We are still awaiting further detail from the US Administration on its proposed tariff strategy, which I referenced in last month's report. While ‘no news is good news’ for now, the possibility of these measures being introduced continues to provide uncertainty and discomfort across supply chains.

I've just returned from two weeks travelling, spending time with our sales teams in the UK and Europe, as well as with our North American partner, Greenstone Meats (formally The Lamb Company).

The European market has become increasingly challenging in recent months. Our team is doing an excellent job working closely with customers to keep prices firm while carefully managing the pressure points within their respective businesses to mitigate risk for us heading into the second half of 2026. Consumption shows no meaningful signs of recovery, and while it is far from dire and we continue to achieve strong prices for our beef and lamb, the trend is a concern and one that we are monitoring very closely.

The UK is fundamentally in a similar position as Europe, but because our business model is quite different with a major focus on retail as opposed to foodservice, we have been largely insulated from the downside risk. Retailers continue to perform relatively well however our premium beef business, more focused on the foodservice channels, is under pressure. Distributors are reporting increased supply from competing origins and softer demand from end users, which is weighing on inventories and pricing.

North America continues to perform exceptionally well across manufacturing beef, our premium chilled beef business, and our well-established position on lamb. It was noticeable in supermarkets this past week how the grass-fed beef category has continued to grow during the past 12 months, with a visible increase in shelf space. It was also very positive to see so much lamb on shelves as well, given this is a more mature category and has always been a very niche part of the overall protein market. Grass-fed beef represents less than 5% of the total US retail beef sales, hence is also its own niche alongside lamb, but that number highlights the continued opportunity that exists in a category that is growing extremely quickly. Our focus now is ensuring we can support Greenstone Meats and our direct customers to meet this rising demand.

Recent reports of additional large US beef processing plants shutting down further highlight the severe contraction in cattle numbers and the heavy losses processors face because of reduced throughput and record livestock prices. This reinforces our view that strong demand for our product in North America will be around for quite some time yet.

Elsewhere, the Chinese market for beef remains in a state of flux as everyone continues to watch the Australian and Brazilian quotas steadily approach their limits. On lamb, we are now moving out of the peak consumption period, and as expected, both demand and value are gradually softening.

Japan remains challenging for beef due to increased domestic supply. Lamb consumption generally eases as Japan heads into summer, but sales have held steady, with certain market segments, such as the Chinese restaurant trade, performing ahead of expectations.

Thanks to everyone to applied to take part in the 2027 ANZCO Foods IRONMAN. The successful applicants are listed here and I look forward to having you join our ANZCO Crew in Taupō next March.