Brief Bites, 14th August

In this edition:

Fuelling our Commonwealth Games athletes
Global supply chain update
Alliance proud to support Cure Kids
Applications for the 2023 Alliance Graduate Programme open now
Know Your Numbers workshops
Last chance to have your say
Southland Monopoly
Global market update

Fuelling our Commonwealth Games athletes

Left to right: Esther Shobo, Gemma Baldwin, Gaby Broad and Patrycja Lipczik

Many of you will have been watching the outstanding efforts of our athletes at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the UK.

We’re proud to say their medal-winning success was powered by Alliance Group’s beef and lamb.
Alliance Group was the official supplier to the New Zealand Olympic Committee for the Commonwealth Games.

We supplied Pure South beef and lamb, plus Lumina lamb, for the protein-packed meals for the New Zealand athletes as well as their entourage and official delegates including Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson and New Zealand Governor-General Her Excellency the Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro.

A highlight of our Commonwealth Games support was a Lumina BBQ where an Argentinian Asado Cross Grill was used to cook the whole carcass.

Gaby Broad, who is the fifth generation of the Nelson farming family that sent lamb in the first shipment of New Zealand lamb to the United Kingdom 140 years ago, was among the attendees.

A big thank you to our Alliance UK team for helping to organise the event.

Global supply chain update

There is continuing global supply chain disruption. There is a pending port strike in England, port congestion in Northern Europe and Singapore and reduced air freight capacity. We will continue to monitor the situation and work closely with our logistics partners to serve our customers as best we can.

Alliance proud to support Cure Kids fundraiser

We were proud to support a Cure Kids fundraiser in Twizel last night. The event – a three course dinner and auction – held at the stunning Mt Cook Lakeside Retreat raised tens of thousands of dollars for the important charity.

Money raised for Cure Kids helps them to ensure that every child who presents to an emergency department in Aotearoa has the same access to high-quality care, no matter where they are, what time of the day they present, and who they see in the department.

Many of our suppliers from Central Otago, Kurow and the Mackenzie Country attended and a ‘good old fashioned Alliance meat raffle” contributed several thousand dollars to the total amount raised.

Applications for the 2023 Graduate Programme open now

From January 2023, we will welcome four new graduates into the co-operative to participate in an exciting two-year programme that will see them work in various functions, locations and roles across our business.

The ultimate goal of the Alliance Graduate Programme is to build a pipeline of talented individuals with leadership potential to meet the future capability needs of the co-operative. Applications are open now. For more information, please visit: www.alliance.co.nz.

Know Your Numbers Workshops

A reminder that Alliance and Beef + Lamb New Zealand are running a series of Greenhouse Gas Calculator Information sessions. To find a Know Your Numbers workshop in your area and register, please click here.

Last chance to have your say

New Zealand beef farmers have until 5pm tomorrow (Monday 15^th August) to have their say on what cattle traits are important to them. The findings from the Informing New Zealand Beef programme’s Trait Prioritisation Survey will help Beef + Lamb NZ develop a tailored genetic evaluation system for New Zealand’s beef industry. For more information, please visit: www.blnzgenetics.com/informing-nz-beef

A reminder also that our annual Supplier Survey closes tomorrow (Monday 15^th August). If you haven’t already, please take the time to tell us what you think we are doing well, what we could be doing better and anything else you think we could do to support you. If you haven’t received a link to the survey, please contact your Livestock Rep or email communications@alliance.co.nz.

Southland Monopoly

We are Southland’s largest employer and have deep roots in communities all across the province. We are therefore very pleased to announce the co-operative has pride of place on a Southland edition of the world-famous Monopoly Game.

The Southland Business Chamber has created this special limited edition board game as a way to promote the region. Southland Monopoly is currently in production, and games are expected to arrive in November 2022. You can pre-order the game here.

Update from our global markets

Lamb

Global inflationary pressure continues to create market negativity but the overriding issue at this stage is the significant increase in lamb exports out of Australia, which has a direct impact on North American and the key Asian markets of Taiwan and Malaysia. The volume and pricing in China has stabilised but it is still too early for the traditional inventory build for Chinese New Year. Demand in the Middle East is improving with forward sales being confirmed. The ongoing global supply chain issues remain a concern.

Mutton

Reduced seasonal supply and a diversified market portfolio is helping keep pricing steady and maintaining sales velocity. We continue to balance commodity and added value production to maximise plant efficiencies while maintaining revenues.

Venison

Frozen key account business and product shipment is well advanced. Diversification across a number of markets is underpinning the market with no backlog of frozen stocks evident. This has provided a more positive outlook as we move into the Game season. Chilled negotiations for September and October will soon conclude with current demand exceeding our ability to supply and pricing has improved year on year. An improved supply chain remains critical if we are to ensure timely chilled arrivals to meet the Game season demand.

Beef

Demand from China remains firm with stable forward orders in place for the balance of the financial year. The biggest challenge in the market is around liquidity and the supply chain. Market conditions remain stable, and the tone remains positive, although headline prices have eased somewhat in the last few months. The US market has picked up a little in the last week with more importers bidding for product. There is a lot of discussion within the US industry on when domestic processing will slow down, with most expecting this to occur in early 2023. New Zealand and Australia continue to supply limited volumes at premiums over the South American suppliers (NZ 40% and Australia@19% of annual quota). In Asia, market demand has slipped with pressure coming from lifting Australian supply and South America. A lack of frozen storage and extreme heat in Asia are also contributing to the sluggish market. The long term outlook is for pricing and demand to remain steady in China. In the US, we’re forecasting demand to remain average.

Co-products/Specialty Ingredients & Materials

Consultation is beginning on annual contracts across specialty ingredients & materials for the 2023 financial year. Demand and pricing are expected to be similar to this year across all categories. The calfskin business has been concluded.