New Zealand Poultry on the Way Up - NEW ZEALAND - Statistics from the 2006 March quarter show that New Zealand poultry meat and eggs are increasingly popular overseas.

The figures, released by Statistics New Zealand, show that poultry meat exports are up 13% (to just under $2,000,000 for the March quarter) and that poultry egg exports are up 35% (to just over $500,000) from the last quarter. Total poultry exports for the March quarter total just over $5,000,000.

Michael Brooks, the Executive Director of the Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand, says this reflects the industry’s growing reputation for producing safe high quality poultry and egg exports.

“This demonstrates the attractiveness of New Zealand’s poultry products because of our unique disease-free status to other countries around the world,” says Mr. Brooks. New Zealand is the only country in the world free from the main three poultry diseases, including highly pathogenic avian influenza. This provides great export potential to New Zealand and is something the industry has worked hard to achieve. Although our export base may be small at the moment, it is expected to grow rapidly.”

New Zealand exports poultry meat and eggs to a wide variety of countries, including Australia, South Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Exports include meat, meat products, table eggs, egg products, fertile eggs and live day-old chicks.

ThePoultrySite News Desk