Lamb Sales Promotion Likely To Stay Costly

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30212, 17 August 1963, Page 12

Lamb Sales Promotion Likely To Stay Costly

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, August 16. New Zealand can expect to spend considerable amounts of money for some years to come in promoting its lamb on the North American market, judging by comments made today by the chairman of the Meat Export Development Company, Mr N. Thomson. Mr Thomson, who has just returned from a visit to North America on behalf of the company, has been meeting representatives of the Meat Board and the Government this week.

Today, Mr J. D. Ormond, chairman of the Meat Board, confirmed that £900,000 had been taken from the meat reserves fund for promotion in North America. Asked to comment on this. Mr Thomson said that when a new article was being promoted on a new market it was bound to take time. “I don’t think I or the company can tell you how long it is going to take to obtain a consumer preference for New Zealand lamb as distinct from other imported lamb,” he said. "It is entirely a promotional deal of educating people to the New Zealand product. It is not yet known in the United States and Canada as the ‘best in the world,’ as it is known in the United Kingdom.” Asked whether Australian lamb was undercutting New Zealand lamb on the North American market, Mr Thomson said he did not want to “have a crack at anyone." "I think it would be unwise for me to make any comment in this regard. New Zealand has met competition

from other imparted lamb which has brought back the market. There are other countries besides Australia putting lamb into North America. "The decline in the production of lamb in the United States is continuing. The demand in many areas has been completely lost because of lamb's non-availability. There seems now to be an appreciation by the American lamb-producer of the need to keep lamb permanently on the menu, otherwise their market could become completely extinguished. “At the moment they have come to an appreciation that shipments of New Zealand lamb could help to build up their own domestic market. “American sheepmen are proposing to have discussions with New Zealand on the promotion of lamb in the United States. “We are catering for two

different types of markets Their domestic lamb is a much heavier type and at the moment the New Zealand lamb is being accepted in certain parts of the States. There looks to be a place for the lighter-weight New Zealand lamb. "At the moment the indications are that it wouldn’t be to our advantage to develop a heavier lamb for North America.” he said. The Meat Export Development Company's lamb promotion costs in North America —£900.000 in the first two years of operation—was “certainly not a loss to New Zealand," as had been represented by some who did not understand the development work. Mr Ormond said in a statement. Sales in the area this year would earn New Zealand approximately 7,000,000 dollars, he said.