After a slow and cool start to the season, summer has finally arrived here in New Zealand and we have enjoyed a month of hot, dry weather across much of the country. This has helped to bring new season lamb up to weight and is allowing us to catch up on production, which across the industry has been down some 8% versus the same period last year. We expect our farmers to increase the availability of lamb considerably as we move into February, which is good news for all concerned, including our Maimoa customers around the world.

Global supply chains remain a major issue for New Zealand exporters, and that is expected to remain a headwind for our Maimoa lamb shipments for the foreseeable future. The team at ANZCO Foods are working incredibly hard to minimise the disruption and have built partnerships across other agricultural sectors in New Zealand to ensure we maximise every possible opportunity to keep the world’s finest lamb moving to meet your demand.

The ongoing impact of Covid-19 on our customers, chefs and consumers is also continuing to create volatility that we all have to deal with. Interestingly, demand for lamb has been extremely resilient regardless of the underlying volatility, with demand moving between retail and foodservice channels based on the prevailing restrictions in specific geographies. We have also seen a lot of consumers revisit their historical views on lamb over the past year, as its benefits related to nutrition, good health and sustainability increasingly become important in the world in which we all live in.

ANZCO Foods will continue to do all we can to satisfy those trends and opportunities and to ensure we put the best in to our Maimoa lamb so you can get the best out and enjoy its trademark tenderness and taste.

Rick Walker,
General Manager Sales & Marketing