Meat workers’ leader sees great potential in Iran

Press, 15 June 1979, Page 1

Meat workers’ leader sees great potential in Iran

Iran offers “very great’* potential for New Zealand meat exports provided that killing conditions are met and that dealings are handled with sensitivity, according to the secretary of the Meat Workers’’ Union (Mr A. J. Kennedy).

He was speaking yesterday after a four member New Zealand delegation had left for Iran to reopen the lucrative lamb trade.

of clippings” from Australian newspapers in Teheran had impressed on him the ease with which the Iranians could take affront. New Zealand faced strong competition from Australia for the Iranian market but the “first hand” approach had given this country the edge.

local meat-processing plant in Teheran.

Although slaughtering had finished the processing did not seem to be as efficient as in New Zealand.

A meat-trade spokesman said that they would be the first New Zealand officials to meet the spiritual head of the new Iran regime, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Hygiene standards generally were lower, although certain aspects were more stringent than in New Zealand works.

Mr Kennedy recently returned from a two-days-and-a-half visit to Teheran during which he established “good rapport” with a leading trade unionist and heads of the Iranian Meat Organisation. “The market at the present time is wide open there and the potential is very big: it is second to Britain at the present time,” he said. He believed that, his discussion on aspects of the meat industry had clinched the Iranian commitment last month to proceed with long-term lamb imports from New Zealand.

Meat retailing was of about the same standard.

He was in no doubt about the future stability of the new Government in Iran. His host, Haj-Gholam Muhammadi, was the secretary of the Teheran branch of the meat workers’ union and a leading revolutionary who had carried a loaded submachine gun at all times.

He had been able to give an assurance that the Iranian slaughtermen, who would arrive when the New Zealand kilting season opened later this year, would be warmly accepted. Mr Muhammadi and the New Zealand Meat Board’s representative in Teheran. Mr Hassan Shaida, would also come here soon. “We must cultivate the market and look after them,” said Mr Kennedy.

“They are the crowd that runs the country,” said Mr Kennedy. He had been told that Iran would not be “ripped off” over meat imports as it had been under the old regime.

The New Zealand delegation which left for Iran yesterday included the marketing director of Borthwicks (Mr Brian Freeman), the chairman of the Meat Exporters’ Council (Mr Ronald Cushen), the deputy chairman of the Meat Board (Mr Adam Begg), and another board member, Mr John Stoddart, reports the Press Association.

A big point in his discussions had been the extra processing of meat exports before they left New Zealand. The Iranians had not ruled this out. They required cuts different from those traditionally produced in New Zealand. An example was chops, in which all but the “eye” was discarded. “When I said how uneconomic this would be, they said, ‘We want it and we are prepared to pay for it’,’’ said Mr Kennedy. Because of the rapport established he had been pressed to stay longer in Teheran but had been unable to because of commitments in New Zealand. However, he had seen a

He gave a full account of his trip to the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries (Mr Maclntyre) and the chairman of the Meat Board (Mr C. Hilgendorf) on Wednesday. He called for a conference of the news media to press a need for proficient handling of the forthcoming visit by Iranian slaughtermen. He was not trying to censor the news media but thought they were intelligent enough to appreciate the importance of trade with Iran.

They are due to arrive in Teheran on Sunday and will be met by Government representatives. They plan to stay in Iran for two weeks.

Wellington meat-industry circles are confident of good prospects for supplying about 50,000 tonnes of lamb over three years.

This message would also be delivered to the Meat Workers’ Union.

Being shown a “huge file