17 Aug 2012

Shipment of branded lamb sent to Brazil

12:49 pm on 17 August 2012

Alliance has broken new ground in South America with its first shipment of branded lamb to Brazil.

The shipment, supplied by Southland farms, will arrive in Brazil in the middle of next month.

The lamb will be sold in 120 stores in Brazilo's biggest city, Sao Paulo, as well as restaurants and hotels.

Chief executive Grant Cuff says Brazil offers great potential for New Zealand lamb. It has high red meat consumption, a growing population and an emerging middle class.

But getting access to that market has not been easy as Brazilians eat a lot of red meat.

Mr Cuff says Brazil offers the chance to diversify away from more traditional lamb markets such as Europe and North America, without sacrificing prices.

Brazilians consume about 115,000 tonnes of sheepmeat every year, mostly domestically produced, with the rest imported mainly from Uruguay.