ANZCO Foods Market Update - May 2026

Global markets for beef and lamb remain relatively steady despite the ongoing volatility across the wider operating environment, driven by continued tensions in the Gulf.

Since my last report, I’ve had the opportunity to spend time in Japan with our ANZCO Foods Japan sales team. It was a valuable chance to meet with several of our long-standing retail partners who continue to strongly support our grain-finished Ocean Beef and our lamb programmes.

Ocean Beef has developed a strong following in the Japanese market and, despite the challenging overall market conditions for beef that I’ve mentioned in previous reports, our retailers remain committed to the brand and focused on continuing to grow our business together.

Likewise with lamb, it is always great to see our product on shelf with the ANZCO Foods brand so prominent. In many respects this is unique and reflects the significant commitment ANZCO Foods has made to the Japanese market over more than four decades. That investment has helped make ANZCO Foods synonymous with high-quality New Zealand lamb for Japanese consumers, which brings real value to our business.

What we have achieved in Japan highlights the importance of long-term brand building. That is where I believe our industry’s focus needs to be if brands such as Taste Pure Nature are to succeed and add value over time and into the future. It may not always be glamorous, nor deliver the short-term “sugar rush” of tactical promotions or activations, but the incremental value built through consistent messaging over many years has been invaluable to our business in Japan. If executed properly, it can also create significant long-term value for our industry in China and, ultimately, in other strategic markets where our value proposition resonates but competitive pressure continues to intensify.

Our focus on brand building in China also continues. Next week I will be in Shanghai during the SIAL trade show, providing an opportunity to meet with customers and gain a better understanding of what competitors from around the world are doing in this important market.

During the visit, the ANZCO Foods team will also officially launch Ocean Beef into the Shanghai foodservice channel, with an event bringing together chefs and key industry influencers to showcase the quality of our product and to continue building brand awareness. As with Japan, our strategy for Ocean Beef in China is a long-term investment that will require ongoing commitment. However, the success we have achieved with our Greenstone Creek beef brand within the New Zealand foodservice sector gives us confidence that we are on the right track.

Another exciting development this month within our brand portfolio is the arrival of our first shipment of Angel Bay burger patties into the UK, ahead of their official launch into the foodservice channel. This opportunity is directly linked to the benefits flowing from the Free Trade Agreement signed between New Zealand and the UK in 2022.

Our strategy in the UK is largely centred on replicating the success Angel Bay has achieved across the Australian and New Zealand foodservice sectors. We are confident the value proposition will resonate with UK foodservice distributors and operators and that there is a genuine long-term opportunity to grow a meaningful business there.

Outside that, the US remains a major focus for us, particularly for beef. There are currently rumours circulating that the Administration may issue executive orders removing the remaining tariffs on imported beef, which would primarily benefit Brazil, which currently pays a 26% duty on beef entering the US market.

The objective is clearly to reduce beef prices for US consumers. Whether this move would actually achieve the desired outcome is debatable, but it would certainly create unnecessary volatility in the imported manufacturing beef market, which has become increasingly important to the wider New Zealand industry during the past 12 months.

The latest murmurings out of Washington DC suggest that, despite earlier reports portraying this as a ‘fait accompli’, there is still considerable uncertainty before any decision is finalised. We wait with interest for greater clarity and, hopefully, some common sense to prevail so the status quo remains intact. The legal basis for Trump to implement such changes appears questionable given the tariff structures were agreed through WTO processes and approved by Congress – although, as we’ve seen before, that may not necessarily prove a barrier. Certainly one to watch closely in the coming days.

Closer to home, our plants are now transitioning into the winter season and planning for lower livestock flows. This places increased emphasis on chilled and boneless lamb volumes, both of which play an important role in maximising carcass value.

With beef numbers also beginning to ease, our programme business for grass-fed beef into our Greenstone Meats joint venture in the US (formerly called The Lamb Company), along with our long-standing customer Aleph in Japan, becomes more prominent. Together with the consistent supply generated through our grain-finished Ocean Beef production, these programmes help maintain operational efficiencies across our processing network.

Finally, I hope many of you will take the opportunity to join the ANZCO Foods team and attend the farmer meetings being held across various parts of the country during late May and early June. Unfortunately, due to my travel schedule, I won’t be able to participate this year, but it will be an excellent opportunity to hear directly from Peter Conley, Grant Bunting, and Brent Falvey about developments within our business, the wider industry, and key global markets.

Find out more about our coming eventshere.