Added-value approach 'important’

Press, 8 December 1984, Page 2

Added-value approach 'important’

The added-value approach of a new meat export venture, based in Christchurch, was important for the South Island and a clear signal to New Zealand, said the Minister of Overseas Trade and Marketing, Mr Moore, yesterday. The new company, Alpine Export Meats, Ltd, is based at the Nieuwenhuize factory on Port Hills Road and is a joint venture between Borthwicks (New Zealand), Ltd, and Treat Meats, Ltd, of Christchurch. Mr Moore said while opening the venture yesterday that it would make 54.75 million a year in export earnings and create 15 new jobs. “It is my deep conviction that the future of our nation and the recovery of the meat industry and the economy depend on factories like this,” he said.

“The Government is determined to make structural changes to this economy and free it up, to allow the creative person to give

it a go.” The chief executive of Borthwicks in New Zealand, Mr Robert Baldy, said that the plant would export more than 1000 tons of added-value product a year. This woud mean that South Island beef would get the best possible market return.

The joint company was formed this year, with assets of more than $1 million. It plans to supply Japan and the Middle East initially, and later the United States, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The corporate financial controller at Borthwick’s, Mr David Moriarty, said that exports would begin early next year. Products included diced, salted, and cooked beef packaged in consumer-size parcels. Most would be fully processed at the factory, although some would also be processed overseas.

The products would be aimed at supermarkets and international airline kitchens. Emphasis would be on finished value, Mr Moriarty said.

Finance for the venture has come from Borthwick’s and the Development Finance Corporation.