Waitaki raises killing charges

Press, 8 February 1985, Page 2

Waitaki raises killing charges

Farm editor Waitaki N.Z. Refrigerating, Ltd, has raised stock killing charges to farmers and sheepskin processing charges to exporters, the managing director, Mr Athol Hutton, has announced. New Zealand’s largest freezing company, with nine export works, began the 1984-85 processing year in October by saying that it would try to hold killing and processing charges for the third year in succession. However, it has now increased the flat rate for killing a lamb by 37c and by 15c for a sheep. Exporters are also being required to meet increased charges of 20c a skin for

lamb and 23c a skin for sheep, increases that Mr Hutton believes may be passed on by exporters to farmers by way of a lower skin price schedule. Mr Hutton said that full account had been taken of increased returns for byproducts and the beneficial effects of new technologies and increased throughputs. “But for these improvements, the extra cost of wages, energy, packaging materials, transport, and finance charges would have justified greater increases in processing charges,” he said. The killing charges for the company’s seven South Island works from February 11 will be $7.66 a lamb

carcase plus 6c a kilogram. For mutton this charge will be $9.33 a carcase plus 6c a kilogram. A halal kill will cost 17c more a carcase. In the North Island, at Wairoa and Imlay, Waitaki will charge $7.40 a lamb carcase and $9.96 a mutton carcase, plus the 6c a kilogram on each. Waitaki kills more than 25 per cent of the total export lambs killed in New Zealand each year and its fee increases are likely to result in increases by other companies. The general manager of Canterbury Frozen Meat, Ltd, Mr John Drayton, said he was reviewing his company’s fees and would make an announcement today.