Support wanted for goat meat markets

Press, 7 October 1988, Page 20

Support wanted for goat meat markets

The whole goat industry needed to support the Goat Industry' Meat Development Committee if markets for goat meat were to be developed, said the chairman of the committee, Mr Rowland Woods.

The committee w r as formed last year to provide leadership and coordination in the goat meat industry. It included goat organisations, meat producers and exporters, and the Meat Board but had not been able to function because the various groups could not agree on the committee’s structure, financing, or activities.

Mr Woods said that the main argument was whether the committee should focus on the long term needs of an industry expected to expand rapidly, or whether it should give priority to short term problems and establish producer owned processing and export facilities, and be re-

stricted to producer groups. The Mohair Producers Association withdrew from the committee because it was unhappy with the committee’s emphasis on long-term planning and industry- wide representation.

Finding markets for the increasing amounts of goat meat would need the co-operation of the whole industry, said Mr Woods. If the committee had to compete with member organisations it would not be able to co-ordinate and lead marketing activities. "We cannot afford to let the committee’s activities become pawns in a game of producer organisation politics. "I have asked the Meat Board to consult independently with interested parties so we can establish a more effective and acceptable framework for planning and developing the goat meat industry,” Mr Woods said.