Ethanol demand may benefit NZ beef

The world’s thirst for energy from ethanol is likely to drive up the price of protein meat and should be good news for New Zealand. According to Meat and Wool New Zealand senior economist Con Williams, the ethanol-driven growth in demand for corn would force up costs for feed-lot produced meat, including beef. This is good news for grass-fed beef producers such as New Zealand. Rising international grain costs have forced some of Argentina’s farmers to turn grazing land to cropping, despite beef production failing to keep pace with soaring demand for beef, both domestically and internationally, though the decline in beef exports from Argentina would have little impact on New Zealand beef exports, as Argentina supplies high quality cuts to European markets under quota. (January 15, 2007)