Dept gives view on meat marketing

Press, 6 August 1983, Page 13

Dept gives view on meat marketing

PA Wellington No single plan should be set for the marketing of New Zealand meat on a world-wide basis, the Department of Trade and Industry has said in submissions to the Meat Industry Task Force.

Instead, the department recommends that specialised market development programmes for each targeted market should be drawn up. The department has also told the task force that the interests of the meat industry would not be best served by the establishment of a single meat export board of some kind, acquiring and marketing all sheepmeat and beef for overseas sale. It considers, however, that there should be a central authority with the statutory power to determine, implement and enforce policies for sales into single buyer and development markets. “To seek to set out one basis of approach to the many and varied markets which there are for New Zealand’s product, seems to us likely to create more problems than would be solved,” says the department.

A variety of approaches would more likely produce the desired result.

“Only by a spread of

market contact points and through the exposure of a range of New Zealand processors and sellers to buyers and consumers is it likely that the signals from the market will be discerned, captured and responded to in the most effective ways to ensure maximum return to New Zealand.”

The department adds that it does not, however, advocate complete unrestrained competition by New Zealand industries in all markets at all times. In markets where a State organisation was the sole buyer there was a case for a mechanism for selling through one channel into the market.

There was an urgent need for a review of the approach being taken in the existing development markets, the department says.

Japan, in particular, provided potential for growth which was not being realised, and North America, in terms of sales volume growth, was disappointing. The meat Industry Task Force, headed by the Meat Board chairman, Mr Adam Begg, was formed at the end of May and is due to report to the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Maclntyre, at the end of August.

The main aim of the committee is to make recommendations on the marketing of meat overseas.