{"id":576186,"date":"2026-08-21T20:14:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/576186\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T20:14:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T20:14:19","slug":"nz-beef-mince-prices-climb-above-24-40-a-kg-as-export-demand-stays-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/576186\/","title":{"rendered":"NZ beef mince prices climb above $24.40 a kg as export demand stays strong"},"content":{"rendered":"In early 2024, the average price for beef mince was about $18\/kg.<\/p>\n
Since then, it\u2019s risen rapidly. The average price in July 2026 is above $24.40\/kg \u2013 more than 30% higher than two and a half years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cHistorically it\u2019s been a real go-to red meat option because it is very versatile in terms of what you can do with it, but now it\u2019s not really the cheap option it once was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corkran said the rapid rise contrasted with chicken and pork, which had remained relatively flat over the last two and a half years.<\/p>\n
Chicken breast and pork loin chops are averaging $14.80\/kg retail and $16.70\/kg respectively.<\/p>\n
Chicken breast is less expensive than it was in early 2024 and pork loin chops are nearly the same price.<\/p>\n
Global beef mince prices were expected to stay high in the short to medium term due to low global beef supply.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere in New Zealand and around the world, beef supply is pretty tight and, as a result, we\u2019re likely to see beef mince prices remain elevated well into 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is, of course, great for Kiwi beef exporters, but it\u2019s much less welcome news for shoppers looking to keep their weekly food bill down.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the pricing gap between beef and other protein options continuing to grow, Corkran said Rabobank\u2019s global research team was closely monitoring how higher beef prices were impacting consumer choices.<\/p>\n
In the US, beef demand had been resilient despite the prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that kind of tells us that US consumers aren\u2019t quite walking away from beef at this point, but they are changing within the category what they\u2019re purchasing, and in 2026 it appears US beef demand is recalibrating at record high prices, rather than collapsing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the US, we are hearing that the main present-day concern is not that consumers have stopped buying beef, but that retailers and foodservice may have pushed prices to the edge of consumer tolerance, especially for higher-value cuts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Rising beef prices meant significant changes globally \u2013 particularly in the foodservice category.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn food service, and especially within quick service restaurant (QSR) channels where burgers are a core traffic driver, operators are increasingly challenged by beef cost inflation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a result, many chains continue to lean into chicken-based menu innovation and value offerings to protect margins and capture market share.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corkran pointed to recent changes to McDonald\u2019s New Zealand menu as a local example of how quick service restaurants continue to expand chicken offerings.<\/p>\n
At the household level, Corkran said persistently high beef prices also risk consumers switching to cheaper protein such as chicken. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt this stage we\u2019re yet to see any evidence of lower demand for beef mince here in New Zealand but, at some stage, we think there will be a point where the consumer says these high prices are getting too much for me, and this might prompt a more concerted switch to either smaller volumes purchased or lower priced protein options.\u201d<\/p>\n
Separately, ANZ said New Zealand\u2019s agriculture sector is still running hot.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommodity prices are in positive territory, despite a few cold spots and risks building on the horizon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dairy prices haven\u2019t fallen much this winter, defying a common seasonal pattern.<\/p>\n
Likewise, beef and lamb prices showed no trace of seasonal price weakness earlier this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though risks to the downside are accumulating for sheep and beef, farmgate prices keep hitting new records,\u201d ANZ said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrices can fall a bit and still be very good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.<\/p>\n
Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our\u00a0Business newsletter<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In early 2024, the average price for beef mince was about $18\/kg. Since then, it\u2019s risen rapidly. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":576187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[283709,283710,21045,17394,806,2177,916,5589,138,5343,23852,4190,6440,16118,85846,85845,130,111,139,529,69,17096,3333,12937,26214,644,312,48077,22858,18835,131,6436,102,80],"class_list":["post-576186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-283709","tag-24kg","tag-above","tag-agribusiness","tag-as","tag-average","tag-banking","tag-beef","tag-business","tag-climb","tag-consumers","tag-demand","tag-ever","tag-export","tag-kg","tag-mince","tag-more","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-north","tag-nz","tag-paying","tag-price","tag-prices","tag-rabobank","tag-retail","tag-says","tag-specialist","tag-stays","tag-strong","tag-than","tag-well","tag-with","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}