Timeline
A short history of the New Zealand meat industry.
| 1882 | (15 Feb) | SS Dunedin sails for the United Kingdom with the first export shipment of frozen meat |
| 1914-1918 | (First World War) | New Zealand farmers encouraged to produce as much as possible for the British wartime trade |
| 1920 | (30 Jun) | Wartime buying contract ends leaving huge tonnages in store. Prices tumble |
| 1921 | A 'Board of control' for the industry proposed to regulate the New Zealand industry, co-operatively market the products and negotiate prices and freight. Debate raged reinforced by a disastrous season for farmers | |
| 1922 | (Feb) | The Meat Export Control Act becomes law creating the New Zealand Meat Producers Board |
| 1922 | (17 Mar) | First meeting of the Meat Board held in Wellington: five farmer representatives and two government representatives |
| 1922 | (Aug) | London office established |
| 1923 | New Zealand exports over six million carcasses of sheepmeat to Britain | |
| 1923 | Rosette mark introduced | |
| 1926 | First shipments of beef, mutton and lamb to Canada and the United States | |
| 1933 | First shipments of chilled beef sent to the U.S. | |
| 1939 | Over nine million lamb carcasses exported to Britain | |
| 1945 | New four-year agreement to supply as much as possible to the United Kingdom. This was extended in 1952 to a 15-year agreement giving unlimited access to the market. | |
| 1947 | New Zealand joins GATT | |
| 1950 | Meat & Wool Boards' Economic Service established | |
| 1954 | Rationing ends in Britain. Five million NZ lamb recipe books 'snapped up' in the UK | |
| 1959 | Meat Board gets authority to negotiate air freight rates | |
| 1961 | (Oct) | Meat Export Control Act changed to allow the Board to market lamb |
| 1962 | Board representative established in the United States | |
| 1964 | Board representative established in Japan | |
| 1971 | Brussels office opened | |
| 1971 | Board get Order in Council to buy and sell beef | |
| 1973 | Britain joins the EEC - quotas result | |
| 1974 | (Nov) | Board announces guaranteed prices for lamb and mutton |
| 1974 | Teheran office opened | |
| 1974 | Meat Industry Authority (MIA) established | |
| 1980 | (May) | EC sheepmeat regulation agreed |
| 1980 | Meat Act dissolved MIA | |
| 1982 | (Oct) | Board takes over all sheepmeat buying and selling. Bahrain office opened. |
| 1988 | Chilled packaging: commercial launch of CAPtech | |
| 1990 | (Oct) | Meat Research Development Council (MRDC) established |
| 1990 | (Oct) | EEC becomes EU - a single market |
| 1990 | (Oct) | Hong Kong office opened |
| 1994 | (Apr) | GATT agreement signed |
| 1994 | Korean office opened | |
| 1994 | Quality Mark launched | |
| 1997 | (Dec) | New Meat Board Act passed |
| 1998 | (Mar) | Meat New Zealand adopted as new trading name |
| 2004 | (July) | Meat Board Act 2004 passed on 1 July and organisation name reverts to: New Zealand Meat Board |
| 2007 | (15 Feb) | 125th anniversary of first shipment of New Zealand frozen meat |
| 2020 | 31 Dec | UK exits the EU ('Brexit') |
| 2021 | 1 Jan | EU28 WTO quotas split into EU27 and UK - Sheepmeat and Goatmeat; High Quality Beef |
| 2022 | 28 Feb | UK and NZ sign Free Trade Agreement |
| 2022 | March | NZMB centenary - 100 years supporting red meat exports and reserves investment for farmers |
| 2022 | 24 May | 140 years since first frozen shipment of sheepmeat arrived in UK |
| 2023 | 31 May | UK-NZ Free Trade Agreement enters into force - new access for beef, including processed and prepared products |
| 2023 | 9 July | EU and NZ sign Free Trade Agreement |
| 2024 | 1 May | EU-NZ Free Trade Agreement enters into force - new access for beef, sheepmeat and goatmeat (including processed and prepared products) |