Higher lamb sales in U.S. forecast

Press, 14 December 1985, Page 2

Higher lamb sales in U.S. forecast

NZPA staff correspondent Washington New Zealand lamb sales in the United States are expected to increase next year, says Mr Wayne Rice, chief executive of the New Zealand Lamb Company. “I would expect our sales to be 12 to 14 per cent of the New Zealand kill,” he said from New York.

In 1984-85, business had increased 75 per cent. Mr Rice said the higher price on New Zealand lamb as a result of United States countervailing duty applied in September was having its effect and the company had had to absorb a great deal of that cost.

However, the duty might be reviewed in March, the earliest possible time. Over the last two months the New Zealand Lamb Company has been trying to woo Americans away from their traditional turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas

and on to lamb. The strategy appears to be paying off.

Mr Rice said sales of New Zealand lamb for November and December this year were up 80 per cent on last year.. Over-all 'New Zealand meat exports (beef, veal, sheepmeat) to the United States were well up in the first 10 months of this year compared with the corresponding period in 1984, according to the United States Agriculture Department.

Its statistics show 359.3 million pounds of meat imported from New Zealand in the year to November 2. In the equivalent period in 1984 New Zealand exported 294.1 millionpounds. However, in October (the latest figures available) New Zealand exported 28.28 M pounds of meat to the United States compared with 29.9 M pounds in October, 1984-