B+LNZ and the Meat Industry Association provide another update on how the global supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are impacting processing in the red meat sector.
From Beef + Lamb New Zealand and the Meat Industry Association
Livestock processing
We want to give you another update on how the global supply chain issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are impacting processing in the red meat sector.
While demand and prices are strong, there remains significant port congestion, vessel schedule changes and a shortage of containers, which is causing bottlenecks and increased costs across the supply chain. Ports at Los Angeles/Long Beach, Dalian in China and the UK are significantly impacted.
Unfortunately, the sector does not expect the supply chain situation to improve over the next 12 months.
Processors must always ensure the volume of livestock inflows to their plants matches their ability to secure available shipping containers, ship the products to global markets and manage their inventory.
With processing ramping up, companies are carefully balancing plant capacity and livestock flows with storage space, container availability and their ability to ship product to our global markets.
This will have implications for processing waiting times, which will vary from processor to processor and region to region. We encourage farmers to keep in touch with their livestock representative about forecasts. This will help processors plan accordingly.
Livestock pick-up
As you will appreciate, the consequences of a COVID-19 outbreak within a processing plant are extremely serious.
Individual processing companies will have their own policies on picking up livestock from farmers infected by COVID-19 and we urge farmers to ask their livestock representatives for information on this.
As an essential industry and a highly connected value chain, it’s absolutely critical that we minimise infection and spread, especially as we come into peak processing season.
If you have any questions or concerns, there’s information to help.
Further information
- If you or your staff are directly affected by COVID-19 and need further support, call 0800 FARMING and select option 3.