Sheep placenta cream retailer welcomes Thai Prime Minister's endorsement at East Asia Summit

A sheep placenta retailer says they mostly sell to tourists. Photo / Getty

A sheep placenta cream retailer says it makes sense the Agriculture Minister has never heard of their product, because he is not the target market.

Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern were taken aback by praise for the unusual anti-aging product, from the Thai Prime Minister at the East Asia Summit.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-oca labelled New Zealand a "leader" in value-added agricultural products, like the skin cream.

Ardern told reporters after the greeting that sheep placenta cream has never been raised before at an international meeting, and O'Connor admitted he was hearing about it for the first time.

Nature's Beauty marketing supervisor Sharon Tam said sheep placenta cream is very popular with tourists, particularly from Asian countries.

"A lot of tourists coming from Asian countries buy it, and also make repeat purchases," Tam said.

She welcomed Thailand's prime minister bringing it up at the summit, as they export some of their product to the country.

"He's a smart guy, he knows how popular it is. We know from our Thai distributor that the Thai people love it."

But Tam says it's a very New Zealand item.

"We get our sheep placenta extract locally from Christchurch. This ingredient has been used for a long time."

"I also know that a few New Zealand brands make sheep placenta capsules."

O'Connor said he backs it as a way to diversify agriculture products.

"It's a market opportunity, and it's one more opportunity for the sheep industry."