Concern in U.K. at Meat Board pull-out

Press, 17 January 1986, Page 2

Concern in U.K. at Meat Board pull-out

NZPA staff correspondent London

The Meat Board chairman, Mr Adam Begg, says there is “considerable concern” in the British meat trade about the future of New Zealand lamb sales now that the board’s threeyear monopoly has ended. Mr Begg will meet staff today at the board’s London office to discuss cuts resulting from the resumed control of imports by private enterprise. He said the general consensus in the British trade was that there were very considerable risks in the changes that had taken place. Mr Begg said risks included prices “getting so volatile as to attract unfavourable attention from Brussels (the European Community headquarters).” The board says it has maintained steady prices to avoid disrupting the British market, and to quieten critics there who want further import controls. Traders were “worried about maintaining a reasonable price stability. They don’t want to see a price war developing. “People who have traditionally had supplies as (board) agents are worried as to how they are going to receive supplies for their operations, some of which are very sizeable and which are important to the total distribution of New Zealand lamb.”

The board is cutting its New Zealand staff after handing control of lamb marketing to private enterprise. Forty-four staff work in Europe from the London office. Mr Begg said European staffing levels were being considered, and obviously “something would have to happen” at some stage. The board is responsible only for meat produced to December 21, 1985. Existing stocks are being sold in Britain by board agents, and

the first of the new season’s lamb was released yesterday.

Mr Begg said, “The relationship of owner and agent will no longer exist, so in terms of accounting and how it all operates there will not be that role for the board to carry out. “We still have a responsibility in quality control, market support and penetration, and looking at promotional activities.”

Only agents with meat businesses in New Zealand will be allowed directly to import lamb. The five approved under the new set-up are Towers, Borthwicks, Weddels, with its New Zealand subsidiary W. and R. Fletcher, ANZ Farmers and the New Zealand Lamb Company. The board had nine agents in Britain. Mr Begg has been meeting agents during the last week, and he says the board’s role in London cannot be decided until agreement is reached in New Zealand on how the system will work. He will return to discussions with the exporting companies in New Zealand next week.

He rejected criticism from agents who said the board was not flexible enough in pricing its meat for the British market and consequently missed out on sales.

“The end-users prefer reasonable stability. You can always argue after the event that you moved prices up or down too late,” Mr Begg said.

“The general consensus would be that it (the board’s pricing) has not been too far away.” Under a voluntary restraint agreement, New Zealand is limited to selling 245,000 tonnes of sheepmeat a year to Europe. The board’s European director, Mr Erik Trautmann, said yesterday that actual sales in 1985 were between 200,000 and 210,000 tonnes.