Japanese Kinross Station lamb customers during an on-farm tour at Holbrook this week.

IMPROVING Australia’s ewe base for high intramuscular fat content lamb production is the key to supplying premium meat markets like Japan, according to seedstock supplier and marketer Tom Bull.

In an X post today, Mr Bull said in a market flooded by marbled beef the opportunities for lamb in Japan are significant.

“An economy starting to pick up, lamb is on the rise in food service.

“No better home for highly marbled lamb,” he posted.

“Serious opportunity for the industry.”

Mr Bull said Japan likes highly marbled lamb without a strong gamey flavour.

“In a market flooded with highly marbled beef, Japan offers high value supply chains significant opportunities over the next decade,” he said.

Thin sliced Kinross Station lamb shoulder on sale in Japan.

Mr Bull said of the 2000 lambs processed weekly for the Willow Bend and Kinross Station brands, a significant proportion of the forequarters end up in Japan.

“The marbling is the highest in the shoulder and it suits their method of cooking.

“We send highly marbled lambs 6-7 percent to Japan with pleasing results.

“We have been measuring using SOMA (near-infrared spectrophotometer) to date,” he said.

“The aim is to get the bulk of the lambs heading to Japan to be from lambs with over 7pc (IMF).”

Mr Bull said highly marbled meat suits the Japanese way of cooking, with the fat rendering down onto the coals creating heat.

“Most of the beef eaten traditionally is highly marbled Wagyu and more recently Angus beef.

“Lowly marbled meat becomes dry in this cooking process,” he said.

Australian lamb more suited to Japanese market

Kinross Station 8pc IMF lamb loin.

Mr Bull said the average for marbling is 4pc in Australia’s lamb industry.

“My belief is we need 7pc IMF lambs which are perfectly suited for this cuisine.”

He said most of the lamb in the global market place is 1-3pc IMF.

“Australia is streets ahead and with genetic investment we can improve significantly more over time.

“Australian lambs are more applicable to Japanese markets than other countries.”

Mr Bull believes a probe-based technology will the best option for measuring lamb IMF in the long-term. He said there currently isn’t any probe-based technology that is able to measure accurately highly marbled lamb over 6pc IMF.

“Hopefully, in 2025 we will see this change,” he said.

Sheep Central has been told a hand-held microwave unit developed by Murdoch University was four weeks ago AUS-MEAT accredited for measuring IMF between 2-8pc on hot lamb carcases. The tool was not accredited for IMF above 8pc because lambs with this trait were not found.

Chief Investigator of the Advanced Livestock Measurement Technologies Project (ALMTech) Graham Gardner said the microwave unit was accredited in a plant taking three measurements per carcase at a chain speed of 12 carcases per minute.

When asked if commercialisation of the Meat Standards Australia cuts-based model is part of the solution to lifting the eating quality of Australian lamb, Mr Bull thought marbling and MSA are closely linked.

“Simply increasing the IMF without massive changes is the answer and will provide opportunities for all cuts.”

He said development of the ewe base is key to producing lambs that can maximise producer returns now and in the future

“It takes 6-7 years to change a ewe base for marbling; that is how long ewes hang in the system.

“The rams you purchase this year will still have ewes in the system in 2032,” he said.

“I do think we will see market changes during this period.

“There is no reason you can’t combine production and market traits.”

Mr Bull believed highly marbled meat sheep of a number of breeds are best suited for high eating quality lamb production.

“Many of the wool sheep have that characteristic strong gamey flavour which Asian customers find undesirable.

“Grain finishing also helps the flavour profile for Asian markets.”