Rapid Development Of Meat Market

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31317, 13 March 1967, Page 14

Rapid Development Of Meat Market

(New Zealand Press Association)

TAUPO, March 12.

In the last six years New Zealand’s meat export trade with Japan had developed from nothing to one of the biggest in this country, said the chairman of the Meat Board (Sir John Ormond) in Wairakei on Saturday.

He expected that this trade would be greatly developed in future, said Sir John Ormond. He predicted that this year would be one of the greatest for meat exports in the country’s history.

Sir John Ormond was speaking at the opening of the annual conference of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies of New Zealand.

He paid a tribute to the Japanese Dentsu Advertising and Marketing Company, which in coordination with the Meat Board's own promo-

tion organisation, had played a major role in building up the trade with Japan. Sir John Ormond said that before 1954, New Zealand had depended mainly on Britain for its meat export trade, but more markets had been developed since. “Today we sell 82 per cent of our beef and veal and 83 per cent of our mutton to markets outside Britain.’* But, he said, 92 per cent of New Zealand’s 22 million lambs still went to the United Kingdom market Sir John Ormond said the development of the mutton market in Japan was a success story which emphasised the power of public relations and advertising.

“I believe this will be one of the greatest years for meat exports in our history, and 1 am looking forward to the day when lamb is sold in considerably greater quantities in Europe and Japan,” he said. Guests at the conference included a director of the Dentsu organisation, Mr H. Yoneda, and an assistant director, Mr R. Okada. Mr Yoneda said the aim of his firm had been to educate the Japanese people to eat mutton. He said they were enjoying the high quality of New Zealand meat, and it was now proposed to promote the consumption of New Zealand lamb in Japan. He said that 75 per cent of all New Zealand’s meat exports went to Japan and more than 50 per cent of Japan’s total meat imports came from New Zealand.

In 1958, four tons of New Zealand mutton were exported to Japan, compared with 54.000 tons last year.