Beef prices in New Zealand are at a point we’ve seldom seen. Global demand, tight supply and strong export markets are combining to push local farmers into tough territory. For a small operation like ours at Hurunui Farms, that pressure is felt acutely, but so is the opportunity to invite you, our community, to be part of preserving something special.
Export Pull & The Global Market
New Zealand is a major beef exporter: most of our beef leaves our shores. The export earnings from beef have grown, for instance, in Q1 2025 beef value exports rose by nearly 7 % year on year. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade With global demand for lean, grass-fed beef strong, our very best cuts are highly sought abroad. That means domestic supply gets squeezed.
It’s not just about dollars; it’s a tug of war. If we let premium animals always be shipped overseas, what is left for the local market becomes lower margin, lower quality, or simply imported product.
Australian Beef & Grain Finishing
You may have noticed more Australian beef appearing in NZ supermarkets lately. That’s not just happenstance, it’s partly because Australian producers have feedlot operations and can finish cattle on grain to push weight more rapidly. In contrast, NZ has almost no feedlot sector; our beef is almost entirely pasture raised. Beef Magazine
However, labels can mask reality. Some “grass-fed” beef in Australia is finished with grain before slaughter, which affects fat, flavour and consumer expectations. So while Australian beef often gets pegged as “imported and grain-fed”, the reality is sometimes more complex.
Because Australian beef can be marketed as “premium” while being more aggressively finished, it competes directly with NZ grass-fed on price or perception. That’s a danger for the local brand.
Why Supporting Local NZ Beef Matters
If local consumers switch to cheaper imported beef, several things happen:
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Margins for NZ farmers get squeezed further
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Farmland may shift to less intensive use or even be sold out of production
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Local identity and traceability are lost
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Quality expectations suffer
Supporting local doesn’t mean blind loyalty, it means being part of the system that sustains farmers doing the right thing: grass feeding, good animal welfare, small scale, traceability.
What You Can Do
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Prioritise buying NZ grass-fed, pasture-finished beef (ask questions, read labels)
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Accept that higher quality costs more but you get better flavour, ethics, and local impact
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Encourage supermarkets to stock clear NZ beef lines and reject opaque imports
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Share your support (#SupportNZBeef) and talk about what local beef means to you
At Hurunui Farms, we believe in what we produce. Our cattle are grass-fed in the Hurunui and Canterbury’s temperate pastures, and we stand by our traceability and ethics. If we lose the local market, we lose more than profit, we lose a way of farming.
Let’s walk this path together. Support your local, choose quality, and tell your friends.