Meat company head optimistic for future

Press, 7 September 1984, Page 14

Meat company head optimistic for future

Optimism that the meat industry, New Zealand’s largest, is again on a profitable path for all its sectors has been expressed by the general manager of Canterbury Frozen Meat j Co., Ltd, Mr John Drayton. He has just returned from an overseas trip to the United Kingdom and the United States during which he looked at markets for his company’s by-products, product developments and packaging trends and price levels and indications for the coming 1984-85 exporting season. Mr Drayton said the problems of the meat industry were now balanced by a surge of input of money and people. Many in the industry were now looking systematically at internal transport, shipping costs, production of leaner lambs and processing costs. “I must be optimistic because we are starting from a base of being the best meat producing and processing industry in the

world and a base of the good name of New Zealand meat,” he said.

“The industry will return to being a profitable one for all sectors, without the need for subsidies to farmers.” Greater efficiencies in meat processing works were now being seen, he said, and further progress was essen-

tial to keep further processing of sheepmeats in New Zealand and not lost to overseas countries with cheaper labour. Processing facilities must become better utilised and •he was sure that this factor would be highlighted in the forthcoming consultants’ review of the processing sector commissioned by the Meat Industry Council. Mr Drayton also said he could foresee better returns for meat companies from export byproducts — offals, skins and casings, etc.

This is sure to be a contentious statement with sheep producers, many of whom have long been convinced that returns for byproducts are the “cream” for meat companies. Mr Drayton realises that forecasts of better returns from these products will give producers ammunition when the financial result for his company is announced later this year. “C.F.M. byproducts are rated very highly with our end-users,” he said.

“I found on this latest trip that the output from the new $5.5 million Fairton pelt-house had found a ready acceptance by tanners.

“Consumer pack offals are also in high demand everywhere. “The supermarkets want something that they can tip out on to their shelves and sell.

“But offals need promotion because the younger generation don’t eat them,” he said.

With promotion, offals could rise again in price compared with the depressed levels of the last few years, he said.

But the real problems facing world trade in meats remained the fat-health link, high processing costs and the surpluses of the E.E.C.

. “It staggered me the number of magazine articles overseas devoted to health and red meats,” said Mr Drayton.