The fast-food chain is a key customer for the country's Angus beef industry. It has bought 1.7 million kg of local beef since it teamed up with AngusPure and launched a premium burger range two years ago.
It was hoped the launch of a new Kiwi Angus burger at McDonald's this week, available for a limited time as part of a NZ-inspired menu, would further boost the record sales.
When contacted, New Zealand Angus Association president Bruce Alexander, who farms at Hunter, near Waimate, said the organisation was thrilled with the programmes it was running and the effects they had for the demand for Angus genetics.
In particular, AngusPure and the McDonald's Angus burger range had "really lifted the profile" of Angus beef and that had flowed on to beef farmers wanting to buy Angus genetics.
Consumers also liked the traceability of the beef, an aspect that was becoming increasingly important, Mr Alexander said.
Angus cattle had been receiving premiums right throughout the supply chain and the McDonald's Angus programme was a vital part of that. Sales volumes and prices were at record levels, New Zealand AngusPure chairman Tim Brittain said in a statement.
"Sales of 2-year-old bulls at auction rings have increased in price by an average of $1240.
Coupled with a 40% rise in the number of bulls sold, this represents an increase of more than $3 million to Angus bull breeders across the country," Mr Brittain said.
It was not just Angus beef in demand. McDonald's New Zealand had bought 5.5 million kg of New Zealand beef over the past year.
McDonald's was committed to sourcing quality ingredients from New Zealand suppliers, including farmers, bakers, growers, fisheries and produce suppliers.
In 2010, it spent more than $150 million with suppliers across New Zealand, managing director Mark Hawthorne said.
