Red meat sector releases its priorities for incoming Government

Safeguarding and improving market access, managing supply chain disruptions, resource management reform and predictability on climate change policy are top policy priorities for the incoming Government, to support sheep and beef farmers and red meat exporters in navigating global volatility.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) and the Meat Industry Association (MIA) have today released their 2026 election manifesto for the red meat sector. It lists nine priorities to support the production of nutritious and natural grass-fed red meat for consumers around the world. 

Trade is fundamental to the prosperity of New Zealand, MIA Independent Chair Nathan Guy says.

“Global demand for our products remains strong, and despite reduced export volumes, the outlook is positive. However, the erosion of global trade rules and a rise in protectionism makes free trade agreements and the protection of current market access more important than ever,” he says.

“New Zealand needs to do everything it can to seize market opportunities, particularly markets with great prospects such as India. This provides the sector with options and creates resilience, supporting farmgate returns and the national economy.

“The Government must continue to provide strong support to ensure New Zealand can address specific trade issues arising from protectionist policies and tactics in an increasingly volatile international marketplace.”

B+LNZ Chair Kate Acland says the most recent conflict in the Middle East is evidence of how global events can impact the sector. Much of this is outside of our control but the impacts are real and flow back through our communities.

This is why the sector is asking the incoming Government for predictability and certainty in the areas it can control, to enable farmers and exporters to get on with business.

“Farmers have made substantial environmental gains and policy settings need to enable further progress. The Resource Management Act reform is the single biggest policy area we need to get right – this shapes nearly all regulation affecting famers.  It is critical the reforms deliver more streamlined and practical rules that support the sector to grow, while also caring for the environment,” she says.

“We need effective and enduring solutions across all environmental policy. The recent changes to limit carbon farming, while welcome, don’t go far enough to stop the wholesale conversion of productive land into forestry.

“Our sector has reduced its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 32% since 1990.  New Zealand’s emissions reduction targets and how we achieve them cannot change from Government to Government, so that farmers are clear on what they need to achieve.”

Farmers and processors are highly exposed to national energy security issues, particularly fuel availability, electricity reliability and price volatility.

“Fuel and energy settings must support the continuity of the entire red meat system, including on-farm operations, feed and fertiliser application, processing plants, transport corridors, ports and essential supporting services,” Guy says.

“If New Zealand is forced to move to fuel rationing, the red meat system needs to be prioritised as an essential industry because disruptions will increase animal welfare, workforce, economic and market access risks.”

Acland says the red meat sector is also asking the incoming Government to recognise the importance of agriculture in schools. Students should understand that agriculture is fundamental to New Zealand’s future, and we need a pipeline of talented learners being supported and enabled to not only work in sustainable food production, but to fill the highly paid innovation and technology jobs the sector increasingly generates.

The sector’s nine priority areas for the incoming Government are:

  • Protect and enhance market access through trade and biosecurity
  • Enable reliable and affordable energy, fuel, fertiliser and key farm inputs for regional industry.
  • Create a streamlined and predictable resource management system
  • Deliver practical, outcomes-based rules for freshwater that recognise natural variations in catchments and are underpinned by science
  • Focus on the protection of truly significant biodiversity, and recognise and reward farmers as custodians of our precious natural environment
  • Maintain credible globally aligned climate policy backed by the latest science
  • To protect food production, stop the wholesale conversion of sheep and beef farmland into carbon farms
  • Build a skilled workforce through training and smart immigration settings
  • Invest in innovation and value growth across the sector.

To read the Red Meat Sector 2026 Election Manifesto, go to https://beeflambnz.com/election-manifesto-26

Value of New Zealand’s red meat sector

New Zealand’s red meat sector is an economic powerhouse, generating export revenue of more than $12.6 billion in the year to 31 December 2025 and contributing $15.4 billion to GDP. It supports 121,000 jobs, which is 5 percent of total national employment. The sector is strongly focused on exports, with 90 percent of product being sold internationally.