featured in this issue - NZIFST - The New Zealand Institute of Food ...

MIA NEWS
MIA News
Export meat: little disruption after
earthquake
Despite Lyttelton Port being badly damaged in February’s
6.3 magnitude aftershock, there was relatively little
disruption to the export meat trade. Meat companies leapt
into action alongside other primary sector organisations
to support the city’s residents immediately following the
Christchurch quake.
Luckily for the meat industry, none of the processing plants located
around Christchurch suffered any major damage.
Silver Fern Farms’ two Christchurch plants – at Belfast and Islington
– only suffered minimal damage and Belfast has already
been able to resume some operations.
The Alliance Group’s Sockburn processing plant also suffered
only minimal damage. It was able re-commence deer processing
on a limited scale on 1 March, but there have been some delays
to cattle processing starting up again. Anzco Foods reported
minor logistical problems only, which were worked around.
The main constraint on the resumption of full operations at
all of the plants is the damage to the city’s sewerage systems,
which has restricted the treatment and disposal of wastewater.
Meanwhile, core services were restored at Lyttelton Port within
96 hours of the quake, and by mid-March all normal container
and general services had resumed. However, the port has suffered
significant damage from the earthquake and assessments
of the port facilities are ongoing.
The minimal damage to facilities is a relief for the companies,
whose main focus is now on resuming normal operations as
quickly as possible, in order to provide employment for their
Christchurch staff.
Supporting quake victims
Meat companies, along with other primary sector organisations,
have been working to provide much needed supplies to those
affected by the earthquake.
Silver Fern Farms has provided more than two million litres of
fresh water from its Islington Reservoir to help restock a number
of the city reservoirs with clean drinking water. Companies with
operations in Canterbury, including Silver Fern Farms, Alliance
and Anzco Foods, have been providing meat to the Salvation
Army and to help groups like the ‘Farmy Army’ and Student
Volunteer Army, which are helping in the cleanup.
There has also been financial support from the sector. A Federated
Farmers’ initiative, ‘Meating the needs of Christchurch’,
enabled farmers to donate the proceeds from stock processed
by participating meat companies to the Federated Farmers’ Adverse
Events Trust, which is redistributing the funds to reputable
charities like Red Cross NZ and the Salvation Army.
AFFCO New Zealand Limited, Alliance Group Limited, Blue Sky
Meats NZ Limited, CMP/Riverlands, Greenlea Premier Meats
Limited, Progressive Meats Hastings, Silver Fern Farms Limited
and the Wallace Corporation were all involved in the scheme.
Many of these companies have also made contributions to the
Adverse Events Trust, in addition to the funds donated by farmers
via the scheme. Other companies, including Universal Beef
Packers and Crusader Meats, have made contributions to other
appeals.
Meat sector strategy ‘road-tested’
A ‘road test’ of some of the early themes of the red meat
sector strategy has been undertaken through a series of
consultation meetings around the country, and a report
detailing the strategy findings is due to be released on 4
May.
Deloitte is working on behalf of the Meat Industry Association
(MIA), Beef + Lamb NZ, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
and NZ Trade & Enterprise to develop a strategy to improve
profitability in the red meat sector. A mass of information has
been collated using a range of methods including interviews
with industry participants, farmer feedback through an online
survey and analysis of sector metrics, including performance,
costs and profitability.
“Preliminary findings have identified a number of key areas requiring
change in order for market signals to flow through and
to maximise returns from the sector.” Deloitte partner, Alasdair
MacLeod, explained. “They include the stock procurement process,
stock management and logistics, processing and marketing
and variable farm performance.
“The key element in our findings is that the red meat sector
in general needs to become more market-led and make these
considerations the main driver in any decision-making,” said
MacLeod.
The strategy process is divided into two phases. Phase one
is the umbrella study of the issues and opportunities across
the sector, from market to farm, that is currently underway.
In phase two, willing industry participants will collaborate to
adopt and implement initiatives to drive change, based on the
findings of phase one.
The sheep and beef sector continues to be a significant export
earner for the country, generating a total of over $7 billion a
year.
Thinking outside the box
New Zealand meat companies already think laterally for new
ways to approach markets. One of the latest examples is a
recently announced Silver Fern Farms’ initiative that will see
it joining forces with New Zealand Merino (NZM) to develop
niche products for premium global markets.
“We want to add value to both traditional and non-traditional
meat cuts,” explains Silver Fern Farm’s chief executive Keith
Cooper.
“To do this, we need to start with the consumer and find markets
that are not currently well catered for in either product or
story. The fine wool story NZM has created captures the imagination
of consumers from all over the world. Our new FarmIQ
programme means we will deliver a premium product through
targeted breeding, nutrition and traceability.”
The companies are offering three year meat contracts for New
Zealand‘s fine wool growers, which the meat co-operative has
described as being “a revolutionary step for primary sector collaboration”
with meat contracts being offered alongside NZM’s
existing contracts for fine wool.
Cooper says the company welcomes the opportunity the collaboration
provides to reach a broader group of suppliers, customers
and consumers, both in New Zealand and off-shore,
with the Silver Fern Farms brand.
36
Food New Zealand