Meat Board accused of confusing Japanese

Press, 26 December 1984, Page 2

Meat Board accused of confusing Japanese

NZJN Tokyo Japanese trading companies are criticising the New Zealand Meat Board again. Thirty-nine Japanese trading houses have formally criticised the board’s Tokyo-based Asian New Zealand Meat Company, Ltd, (A.N.Z.C.0.) for bringing about “confusion in every stage of the Japanese market.”

The attack was contained in a letter sent last month by the chairman of the Japan A.A. Meat Traders’ Association to Mr Adam Begg, chairman of the Meat Board.

It was the second letter of protest the association has sent to the board since the inception of A.N.Z.C.0., a direct-import organisation, in February. A.N.Z.C.O. has encountered severe opposition from Japanese traders because it has banned them from importing New Zealand lamb and mutton carcases.

Because of the confusion in the Japanese market customers had become very distrustful of A.N.Z.C.O, and the Meat Board, the letter said.

It says that customers have complained that A.N.Z.C.O. neither clearly advised the time of meat delivery nor provided enough information about the product.

Customers also felt uneasy about A.N.Z.C.O.’s “one-sided tactics” of putting all lamb grades under the same New Zealand lamb brand.

“Japanese customers used to select specific brands among New Zealand meat works in accordance with their needs and evaluation,” the letter said.

“It is quite clear that there exists qualitative variation among packers’ products . . . therefore, direct negotiation between Japanese trading houses and respective meat works as essential for proper quality control.”

The association also accused A.N.Z.C.O. of dumping and of holding sizeable stocks of unsold products in Japan. This had thrown trading houses and endusers into great anxiety over forward market movement, it said. A.N.Z.C.O. had been “laying stress on quantitative expansion” in the market as a “dumping seller.”

Australia, the letter said, had “already commenced delicate and intensive sales activities for the Japanese market in co-operation with Japanese trading houses and it is resulting in better sales.”

The association criticised A.N.Z.C.O.’s managing director, Mr Graeme Harrison, whom the association says, had given an assurance in February to' member traders that the board recognised traditional activities and the functions of Japanese trading houses for the sales of all mutton products as well as lamb carcases and fores even in the

future and that A.N.Z.C.O. would never sell direct to end-users. The association wants this assurance reconfirmed. “Regardless of Mr Harrison’s comment, A.N.Z.C.O.’s intention seems to be to direct sales to end-users. This . . . will result in traders’ negative reaction against New Zealand,” the letter said. Traders are also combating the much-delayed establishment of the board’s second company in Tokyo, Japan New Zealand Lamb Marketing, Ltd. The association advised the board in the letter that processed lamb cuts needed more precise quality and specification control, and that sales should be left in the hands of the traders. Mr Begg responded to none of the association’s criticisms in his reply of December 13 but told the association that he was “afraid it is virtually impossible to revert to the previous method of trading.” —Copyright