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Beef prices may drop

The recent reinstatement of the halal certification for meats imported from New Zealand (NZ) may trigger a price drop in beef and lamb sold locally.

The NZ plants obtained approval in December and the meat exports will reach Malaysian customers in the coming weeks, said a key meat importer.

Confirming the halal status reinstatement after its suspension in 2005, Veterinary Services Department director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin said: “With the recent approvals, the number of approved NZ lamb and beef plants exporting to Malaysia totals 16.”

The meat importer told The Malay Mail that as the number of NZ plants approved rises, consumers can look forward to roughly a 10% drop in NZ meat prices.

“The added supply would mean a more open market compared to it being monopolised by a few players, resulting in more competitive prices. We have already seen prices drop from RM23 to RM18 per kg among wholesalers."

But, it still remains a question if these lower prices will be offered to customers as it depends on individual retailer’s offerings. Wet market prices, for example, are less regulated and thus may not reflect the stiffer competition.

A spokesperson for GCH Retail Sdn Bhd, which runs the Giant Malaysia and Cold Storage Malaysia outlets, said: “Our main supplier is from Australia and we have no plans to import New Zealand meats yet. In addition, non-festive seasons do not see high demand for these meats as compared to poultry.”

A Tesco spokesperson echoed the sentiment, saying its stores do not carry a significant amount of NZ beef and lamb, adding that the availability depends heavily on what is supplied by wholesalers.

A Mydin representative also confirmed that NZ meats had yet to hit the shelves and the retailer has no plans to switch to NZ meats as it still has Australian stocks.

The meat supplier said NZ meat is generally more expensive due to it being of higher grade quality and subject to seasonal supply. Also, about 60% of its exports go to Europe.

New Zealand and Australian beef is exported chilled, not frozen, which mean it is as good as fresh meat.

Australia does not have a big European export market, with only 5% of exports shipped there.

But, the price difference becomes less critical as the exchange rate for the New Zealand dollar is less than its Aussie counterpart.

Local beef is mid-priced and Indian buffalo meat is the cheapest. Malaysia reportedly only produced enough to meet a quarter of local beef demand in 2010 signalling a large gap to be filled by the import market.

source : Malaymail