WA_LS666 Des Moines, IA Thu, Jul 09, 2009 USDA Market News New Zealand Meat and Wool Export Summary and Prices BEEF: According to NZX Agrifax, last week was a continuation of previous weeks with little action on the U.S. imported beef market. This resulted in U.S. imported cow remaining unchanged and U.S. imported bull easing a little. Statistics NZ data showed 235,000 MT of beef was exported for the March to May 2009 period, which was up 10 percent on the same period last year. Meat processing company schedule price changes this week range from steady to up 5c/kg in the North Island and remained steady on last week in the South. LAMB: Overseas trade data for May from Statistics NZ shows the quantity of lamb meat exported for the March to May 2009 quarter was 4 percent lower on the same period last year. However, with strong prices being achieved by exporters, the New Zealand dollar value of these reduced volumes was up 14 percent on the same period. It is not only stronger prices that can be attributed to these numbers; the NZ dollar has lost between 5 and 30 percent against major trading currencies. Meat processing company schedule prices range from steady to up 5c/kg on last week, while spot prices range from steady to up 10c/kg. Beef $/CWT Week Ending Week Ending 04-Jul-09 27-Jun-09 P2 Steer 542-595 lbs 95.26 96.62 (4-7 mm) 653-705 lbs 97.98 99.79 (Fat) 650-705 lbs 98.88 101.15 705-761 lbs 99.34 101.15 M Cow 375-430 lbs 66.23 67.59 (0-1 mm) 430-485 lbs 67.59 68.95 485-540 lbs 69.40 70.76 Bull 653-705 lbs 96.16 98.43 Lamb ($/Head) Fat Cover (mm) 24 lbs 0-6 28.57 29.14 33 lbs 7-12 56.44 57.68 46 lbs 7-12 76.92 78.59 Pelt 2 lb 0.51 0.53 Ewe ($/Head) 46 lbs 31.29 32.20 Wool (c/cwt clean) (microns) Fine 21 247.66 249.48 Medium 25 200.49 204.57 Coarse 35 87.09 89.36 Notes: All prices are U.S. Dollars. All meat prices are carcass based and net to farmers. Lamb values include a 1 kg shorn pelt. Ewe values at 0.5 kg pelt. Source: NZX AgriFax Limited, New Zealand 515-284-4460 http://www.ams.usda.gov/LSMarketNews 8:12 adr .