ANZCO Foods Market Update - August 2026

This may well be one of my shortest updates of the year, with very little activity across global markets during the past four weeks.

The northern hemisphere is extremely quiet. Much of this is simply to do with the time of year, with many buyers making the most of their summer vacations and consumption traditionally down during the peak summer months. As previously reported, beyond these not-unexpected seasonal factors, underlying consumption and consumer confidence have been, and remain, weak, simply adding to the lack of activity and inquiries across our key markets.

On a positive note, we have seen some signs of life around our manufacturing beef business in the US in the past two weeks, which bodes well for a return to a more normal trading pattern come September/October. Brazilian imports will also soon start to be held back in anticipation of their quota access reopening in January, which comes without the burden of the current tariffs. The lamb business of Greenstone Meats (formerly The Lamb Company) has been steady but, largely due to the time of year, there is very little new sales activity to report.

China remains weak because of high levels of beef inventory. Our in-market team reports that retailers have tried to lift supermarket prices for chilled Australian beef to cover the higher costs caused by new safeguard tariffs. Consumers have responded as expected, with sales falling significantly. Lamb sales are also soft due to the time of year, with the peak consumption period being during the cooler months. Flap prices, which provide a barometer for the health of the China lamb market more broadly, have been softening as a result.

UK retailers continue to be interested in securing forward positions on legs as they look ahead into early 2027, but beyond that the UK market is quiet and there continues to be significant pressure on beef prices because of increased supply from competitors. Europe is even quieter, both across lamb and beef, and we will need to wait to see how buyers react once Europe finally gets back to business in mid-September.

Japan remains a struggle on beef, due to plenty of lower-priced domestic supply, a weak currency and generally poor consumer confidence. Lamb sales remain steady.

Shipments into the Middle East continue unabated, but we are managing supply chain options on an order-by-order basis given the ongoing tensions in that part of the world.

After a very cold snap here in Christchurch, it would be nice to think that there is some light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to winter, with the prospect of longer days and warmer weather as we head into September. Hopefully, a change in seasons, not just here but across the world, provides a much-needed boost to demand as we start to look towards the end of the year.