Iraq likely to buy less meat

Press, 10 February 1982, Page 12

Iraq likely to buy less meat

PA Wellington Meat exporters expect a huge fall in lamb sales to the big Iraq market this year. According to W. and R. Fletcher, the firm which manages the Iraq contract, shipments are likely to be no more than 8000 tonnes, compared with the 30,000 -tonnes sold for $7O million last year. The export sales manager, Mr Bruce Bishop, said Iraq still had big quantities of lamb in its coolstores and negotiations on this year’s contract were not likely for another two months. The 1981 contract was signed in September, 1980, and nearly doubled the amount Iraq had bought the year before. “I think they made that purchase on the assumption that it would be required for the Armed Forces,” Mr Bishop said. “Logistically, they couldn't get the product to the forces because they are too far spread.” The lamb was stored mainly in coolstores in Bagdad, whereas most of the Armed Forces were further south, where much of the fighting with Iran has taken place. Unlike Iran, Iraq put little of the lamb on to the civilian market.

Mr Bishop said he believed Iraq had earlier this year

bought about 6000 tonnes of lamb from a South American country, probably Uruguay. That could be another reason why there was so little interest in New Zealand lamb. A Meat Board spokesman said that increased sales to the United Kingdom this year would offset the lower Iraq sales. United Kingdom shipments slumped to 150,000 tonnes last year partly as a result of the British seamen's strike, but this year about 180,000 tonnes was scheduled to be sent.

“Obviously we would like to be selling more to Iraq. It would be useful to have

something of the order of even half last year's amount, but it doesn't seem as though that is going to happen,” he said. Industry sources say the smooth running of this year’s export programme will depend a good deal on the

Iranian contract, which has still not been completed. A New Zealand delegation held talks in Teheran with the State buying agency, the Iranian Meat Organisation, late last month, but the Iranians have not yet sent a reply on the 1982 contract.