Greg Foran to headline New Zealand Red Meat Sector Conference 

Former Air New Zealand chief executive Greg Foran leads a strong line-up of speakers at the New Zealand Red Meat Sector Conference in Wellington next month.

Foran, now CEO of US retail giant Kroger, will discuss consumer trends and expectations and what they mean for New Zealand red meat at the conference, Tākina Convention Centre on 29 September.

Hosted by the Meat Industry Association of New Zealand (MIA), with partnership sponsor Beef + Lamb New Zealand, the conference brings together speakers, supporters, exhibitors, and delegates from across the red meat supply chain. 

The conference’s political panel will feature Minister of Agriculture, Trade and Investment Todd McClay, Minister for Rural Communities Mark Patterson, Labour spokesperson for Trade Damien O’Connor, Green Party spokesperson for Forestry Hūhana Lyndon, and a representative from the ACT Party.

Global protein demand, macro trends and changing trade flows will be the focus for Ben Picton, Senior Macro Strategist for the RaboResearch Global Economics and Markets team.

Brett Stuart, former lead economist for the US Meat Export Federation, and analyst Simon Quilty, both from Global AgriTrends, will discuss the global outlook while US National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Executive Director of Government Affairs Kent Bacus will bring delegates a US cattle producer perspective including US production outlook, trade and other key policy developments of relevance to New Zealand.

Simon Limmer, chair of the Dairy Beef Opportunities project, will outline the programme and its goals.

Felicity Roxburgh, executive director of the New Zealand International Business Forum, Diana Reaich, associate deputy director-general trade and international relations at the Ministry for Primary Industries, and Killian Destremau, deputy chief economist at BERL, will feature on a panel about trade disruption and market access, and the multiplier effect export revenue has on the national economy.

The panel will focus on building resilience to market shocks and geopolitics in supply chains, and why this is important for all New Zealanders, not just the red meat sector.

Professional director Sarah Ottrey will talk about the cost of non-tariff barriers and how this impacts New Zealand, and FoodHQ chief executive Victoria Hatton will discuss the tension between food security and exports.

“The theme of the conference is navigating volatility and will highlight why the industry’s success matters more than ever,” says Nick Beeby, chief executive of MIA.

“This year’s line-up is very exciting and we’re looking forward to welcoming red meat processors, exporters and the wider supply chain to Wellington.”

The pre-conference welcome function will take place on 28 September, followed by the conference on 29 September. For further details or to register for the conference, please visit: