Pork Board warns of dumping of Australian pig meat

Press, 20 November 1987, Page 14

Pork Board warns of dumping of Australian pig meat

New Zealand pork prices would be substantially undercut if Australia dumped pork in New Zealand, the Pork Industry Board has warned. The board’s general manager, Mr David Dobson, said evidence of dumping was hard to prove, but the circumstances for it were now ripe. Surplus production in Australia was predicted and lower prices were being paid to producers by large wholesalers and supermarket chains.

Mr Dobson,' who returned recently from a visit to Australia, said dumping could already be happening now. The industry had to take steps within the closer economic relations arrangements to ensure New Zealand was not disadvantaged. Trade officials in Can-

berra had been alerted to monitor pig meat exports and prices, and the board also intended briefing the Under-secretary to Agriculture, Mr Ralph Maxwell, on the serious threat that cheap pig meat exports pose to New Zealand’s pig industry. Mr Dobson said the industry would accept fair competition, but until disease barriers were lifted and two-way trade took place freely across the Tasman, the New Zealand industry was at a major disadvantage. Australian pig producers were using animal health protocols quite bla-

tantly as technical barriers to New Zealand imports, said Mr Dobson. As well, New Zealand was being used as a lever to keep Canadian imports out of Australia.

To bring a case of dumping against Australia, New Zealand must be able to prove that the product is coming into the country at a lower price than the current domestic price of pork in Australia. Mr Dobson said Australia could export to a number of countries, particularly those in Asia and Japan. New Zealand was simply an easy option for quick access for surplus product as the Australians tried to prop up low prices on their home market.

Exports of pig meat were not essential for a viable New Zealand industry, believes Mr Dobson, although imports would be needed to balance supply from time to time.

According to the industry’s newsletter, Mr Dobson said there was a case for balancing production of meat and livestock between the two countries to meet seasonal supply and demand on both sides of the Tasman.

However, this could not happen until the disease protocols were lifted to allow New Zealand to export. At current production levels, about 2000 tonnes of pig meat imports are needed to meet local demand, although the price was more critical than the

quantity. New Zealand was equally conscious of disease problems in imported meat and a fresh outbreak of Atrophic Rhinitis in Australia might force a ban on Australian imports. New Zealand’s case to export pig meat from Aujesky’s disease-free South Island farms was being thwarted by a Canadian application to export pork to Australia. Because some Canadian herds have a disease called TGE (Transmissable gastroenteritis), Australian farmers had effectively slowed up the application by requesting tests to find out whether the disease could be spread in frozen meat.

This testing had been delayed by a suspension of all live virus work following a security scarce at the National Animal Health laboratory. Mr Dobson said he thought it was unlikely that the New Zealand application would be considered before the Canadian situation was decided. He indicated the board might move to stop imports of Australian pork until the queston of access for New Zealand was resolved.

The industry is expected to meet its predicted kill of about 770,000 pigs this year, and with another 2000 tonnes (equivalent to 40,000 pigs) of imports, mostly from Australia, the local market should be adequately j supplied. |