NZ lamb potential in European beef scare

Richmond CEO, John Loughlin, says the company is receiving consistent reports from its European offices that consumers there appear to be turning to lamb as a meal replacement for beef.

"This is a direct result of consumers' concerns regarding European beef. We now have a unique opportunity to promote the nutritional and healthy attributes of our lamb in markets where there has been niche interest.

"Currently these markets, particularly Germany, are looking for meat alternatives to beef."

Mr Loughlin says the interest in lamb is timely for Richmond because it has only recently established a company in Germany, Europe's largest consumer market with a population of 89 million.

However while he is keen to take advantage of the consumer interest in lamb, Mr Loughlin is also advocating a wary approach to trying to win new sales as a result of the scare.

"The biggest risk for Richmond and other lamb exporters at this time is treating the European situation as some kind of latter day 'gold rush'. Our challenge is to build a sustainable consumption profile at price points that will ensure lamb remains a product of choice beyond the current food safety scare."

"The challenge is to use this opportunity in a positive way, emphasising the strengths of lamb, not other products' problems. In this way customers will come back to lamb because of the positive eating experience."

Mr Loughlin says Richmond is looking at intensifying marketing and sales programmes which highlight the positive qualities of lamb and the brand strengths of Richmond product - pasture-raised, grass-fed, farm-assured, and backed by its product trace-back system.

Another meat exporter, Affco (NZSE: AFF), should know within the next month or so what reaction has been to its first trial shipment of South American organic lamb into the UK market.

The company sent its first shipment of processed lamb from Patagonia to the UK just before Christmas, and says the logistics of the operation have worked well. The lamb will now be sent to a number of supermarket customers for trial.

Affco says many Patagonian lambs meet organic certification due to low stocking rates on farms and climatic conditions that do not support parasites.

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