Decline in pig meat production

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33064, 3 November 1972, Page 14

Decline in pig meat production

Pig meats are currently in short supply in New Zealand and there is apparently no early prospect of the position improving greatly from local sources, but some Canadian pork has arrived in this country and two Australian states have been cleared for importation of pig meats.

The decline in the kill has only become apparent in the last month or two, according to a spokesman for a Christchurch firm engaged in pig meat manufacturing, and this was confirmed this week by the secretary of the New Zealand Pork Industry Council, Mr G. A. Beard. For the year to the end of September Mr Beard said that pig slaughterings totalled 878,000, or about 2.6 per cent less than the 901,000 killed in the previous yearly period, but in September he said that killings at 54,500 were down 16 per cent on September last year. In the new yearly period Mr Beard said that on a month-by-month basis the kill in the South Island was expected to be up on the previous period, but it was in the top half of the North Island where production was being affected by a loss of dairy by-products for pig fattening and also uncertainty about whey supplies for this purpose. The decline in skim milk, in particular, for pig raising has been something that has been going on now for several years. The change over to whole milk collection in Westland and in the Karamea district has resulted in the loss of many thousands of pigs, and there has also been a big reduction in the pig population in the Nelson area too.

About this time of the year there is normally an upsurge of production concurrent with cows calving and milk production expanding but this is no longer the case. Now the slack is having to be taken up by production of pigs with cereals and in particular barley. In the South Island production is now almost wholly based on barley, but it is more costly. The chairman of the Canterbury Pork Producers’ Committee, Mr G. S. Meyer, said this week that the current shortage of pig meats which he described as one of the most severe experienced by the industry, had been brought about by meal feeding costs rising steadily as well as the gradual phasing-out of dairy by-products. Up until about three months ago he said that for some two years prices to producers and also over the counter for pig meat had been static, and in this period producers had not been adequately compensated and as a consequence they had been progressively going out of sows, which had been killed off as choppers. It had taken some time for this heavy slaughter of sows to be felt.

Possibly the weaner producer or seller had been the man who had been hardest hit. He had a considerable investment in

sows and feed and had not been getting adequate compensation. This was, however. not the fault of the fatteners, who had been working on a static price schedule and at the same time they had also been faced with steadily increasing production costs. However, in the last two or three months, prices to producers for pork had risen from about 28c to 34c per lb and bacon prices had gone up accordingly. These were “quite appreciable and appreciated" price rises.

Mr Meyer said that what had happened in the pig industry had underlined the wisdom of the stock retention scheme in the sheep industry — how vital it was to retain capital stock. The representative of the manufacturing side of the industry said that prices to producers had been rising throughout the country and at the same time wholesale prices had also been moving up in sympathy.

A Christchurch meat retailer, Mr B. R. Shackel, in confirming that pig meat supplies were short, said that they were getting enough for their day-to-day needs but their concern was about the short but heavier demand for Christmas requirements. Because of the marginal supply of pork and the demand for hams during the year there could be a shortage of hams for the Christmas trade. A processing spokesman, however, while noting that hams could be short, said that butchers who had been doing an increased trade in pork earlier in the year because it was relatively cheap in relation to beef and lamb, could be holding some legs to augment supplies for Christmas.

Mr Beard said that some Canadian pork had just arrived in the country and he also understood that the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries had cleared two Australian states — Tasmania and Western Australia — for procurement of pig meats. This was under certain conditions but they were not very restrictive and it was just a question of procuring supplies. Mr Meyer said that in the present situation a case could probably be made for the importation of some pig meat, particularly to keep the product available to the public, but he felt that such imports should be controlled by the industry so that they were not excessive, and undermined the confidence of people who were prepared to establish large-scale production units.

He sees the future of the industry lying in the establishment of large, capitalintensive integrated units with production, processing and marketing being linked

financially to ensure the viability of each section. This seemed to be necessary because to all intents and purposes there was little prospect of exporting pig meat and so production had to remain geared to New Zealand consumption.

In the present insecure trading situation, he said that it would be too hazardous to expect individuals to establish these sort of units, although there would no doubt still be room for the small producer who produced pigs as a way of life, or who had access to cheap feed supplies and who was prepared to withstand the fluctuations that had been characteristic of the industry. With the introduction of boar testing and pig improvement, the return to the stud breeder would also have to be such that he also remained in business. The public and people in

the industry had to accept that with the phasing out of dairy by-products as a source of feed the industry would no longer be a cheap backyard one and would be on a higher cost level. This would be necessary to ensure a continued supply of grains and protein, when there was increasing competition for these supplies.

However, no early improvement in local pig meat supplies are expected Even if sow herds were doubled it is reckoned that it could be almost a year before there was an appreciable improvement in supplies, according to one authority. Mr Shackel said that long term the outlook was not too good as production in the Leeston and Tai Tapu areas was also likely to be affected next year by whole milk collections, but on the other hand prices to producers could now be such as to encourage production.