High-Quality Meat To Build N.Z. Reputation

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30480, 30 June 1964, Page 6

High-Quality Meat To Build N.Z. Reputation

"The Press” Special Service

HAMILTON, June 29.

New Zealand must continue to establish her reputation as a supplier of the very best in meat and not merely of cheap meat, Mr F. R. A. Hellaby, managing-director of R. and W. Hellaby, Ltd., said in Hamilton on Saturday.

In a paper on meat processing and marketing read at a seminar on diversification in primary industry held at the Waikato University, Mr Hellaby said it was impossible to stress too strongly the need for quality in meat.

“The most frequent criticism one hears,” he said, “is about the supposedly big markets New Zealand is missing overseas because we will not cut prices. “New Zealand can undoubtedly sell all her meat over again at a price. But surely we must find the market that will pay the most and therefore help to maintain the standard of living we now enjoy

“Not merely new markets are required,” Mr Hellaby said, “but new and profitable markets.

‘The industry must be prepared at all times to switch bulk supplies of meat from one part of the world to another,” he said. But it was equally Important to make sure New Zealand established a reputation in all new markets as a supplier of only the very best in meat.

Exporters’ Aim This had certainly been the aim of the most progressive exporters, whether they were sending air-freighted cuts to South-east Asia or servicing markets In America or Europe. “So the problem is not one of selling overseas,” Mr Hellaby said, “but to get sufficient of the right type of meat.”

Dr. A. H. Kirton, scientific officer at Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre, delivered a paper on diversification in the meat industry. If the price of air freighting meat he said, became competitive with ocean transport it might be possible, to send chilled meat to various countries to compete with fresh home-killed meat. Frozen Cream

Dr. F. H. McDowall, director of the Dairy Research Institute, Massey University, said the prftuction of frozen cream for. export recently had become a reality. One factory was supplying upward of 2000 tons in this form. He said there was a trend in tropical countries toward local manufacture and canning of evaporated and sweetened milk.

This was to the advantage of New Zealand as a supplier of the high quality dairy ingredients, dried skim milk and butterfat, used for concentrated milk.

Mr R. B. McLuskie, executive officer of the Meat Board, said the best plans fpr trade expansion’and diversification could come to nothing if favourable international trading arrangements were lacking. New Zealand must fight to ensure that international trade barriers were lowered. WHITE VEAL Mr J. M. Vink, senior laboratory technician of the New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company. Ltd., Waharoa, gave a paper on white veal production. He said New Zealand could not afford to neglect such a

valuable commodity as white veal, but many experiments would have to be carried out before local producers could compete with Netherlands veal.

Dr. M. D. Cameron, chemist of the Meat Industry Research Institute, Hamilton, spoke about the use of meat waste products. She said she hoped in time to see a chemical industry develop in New Zealand for using meat waste products. New Zealanders ' could, through their ingenuity, make products that were original and would command a high price on overseas markets.-