N.Z. FAT LAMB INDUSTRY

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28794, 15 January 1959, Page 6

N.Z. FAT LAMB INDUSTRY

Australian Threat Seen

Australia is a potential danger to New Zealand’s fat lamb export industry in the near future, according to Mr Donald Boyd, of Heriot, West Otago, who has just returned from Australia. Mr Boyd was selected last year from the New Zealand Young Farmers’ Club, to tour Victoria on an award from Imperial Chemical Industries (New Zealand) Ltd. He said that the fat lamb industry in Australia, and particularly in Victoria, was gradually changing its methods to New Zealand ways. Border-Merino cross lambs had been bred for export, but these were not found entirely suitable for British -housewives’ wants. Now, however, the fat lamb industry was changing over to breeding a “down type” of sheep as in New Zealand, and this meant that export aarcase conformation would be similar to New Zealand’s and therefore a potential danger to the New Zealand fat lamb export industry in the near future. At present, Australia’s fat lamb export industry was only about one-fifteenth of New Zealand’s total. Mr Boyd said that to compete with this threat from Australia, New Zealand must step up her advertising, and improve the quality of her fat lamb exports. At present there was a great outcry in Australian newspapers regarding competition between synthetic fibres and wool. However, he thought the combination of synthetic fibres and wool was far from restricting the sale of wool in Australia. On the contrary, it was boosting wool sales as it now went into items not previously made with it, such as lightweight suitings, Mr Boyd said.