New venison plant for Alliance Smithfield

Alliance Group’s $8.6 million new venison plant at its Smithfield site, near Timaru, is now operating at full capacity.

New Zealand’s leading meat processor and exporter is processing up to 420 carcases a day at the plant, which serves the company’s upper South Island suppliers.

Until now, Smithfield has only processed sheep and lamb, so the venison plant marks a major milestone for Alliance. More than 50 workers are based at the venison plant, which operates most of the year.

Murray Behrent, general manager of livestock says: “Alliance Group has invested in Smithfield as part of its dedication to delivering exceptional product quality and food safety standards. It is also a reflection of our confidence in the region and we have received great support from our suppliers, who are producing the quality livestock that we require.”

“Smithfield is yet another example of Alliance Group’s ongoing investment to ensure we meet the needs of our suppliers,” he adds.

The outlook for venison remains positive and the investment at Smithfield showed the company was focusing on processing a variety of products for global markets, says Behrent.

ViaScan to be installed at Smithfield in the next year

The new venison plant was built to accommodate Alliance’s innovative ViaScan meat scanning technology, which will be installed within the next 12 months at Smithfield, the company says.

ViaScan visually analyses carcases measuring the lean meat, fat and bone, to capture yield performance levels. It has been available since 2003 for analysing sheepmeat, and is already in use at eight Alliance Group plants. The company announced it was first to be extended to its venison suppliers at the Alliance Makarewa in Southland in July this year.

Along with providing suppliers with the opportunity of improving returns, ViaScan also aligns farmers with current market information and helps them with decision-making and the selection of good genetics.

“Exceptional product quality and food safety standards are vital for Alliance Group’s export market,” said Behrent when announcing the move. “We’re targeting high-end consumers with discerning palates who rate meat quality highly when making purchasing decisions and ViaScan helps our suppliers produce the quality livestock that is required.”

ViaScan will also mean suppliers can measure the performance of each individual carcase, particularly when the National Identification and Tracing Scheme (NAIT) is introduced in February 2013 for deer, says Behrent.

Smithfield is one of the three Alliance premises selected by Marks & Spencer to provide chilled New Zealand lamb for its UK retail stores. It is also one of the five first plants to introduce the new Ovine Post-Mortem Inspection system of sheepmeat carcase checks this year.

In 2011, Alliance Group completed a $15 million project to upgrade its Mataura beef plant in Southland.

Alliance group secures exclusive M&S deal

Meat processor and exporter Alliance Group has confirmed it has secured an  exclusive deal to supply chilled New Zealand lamb to iconic UK retailer Marks & Spencer.

The South Island co-operative will be the sole supplier of chilled New Zealand lamb to Marks & Spencer from Christmas 2012, sourcing lambs from approved farms across the South Island for processing at the company’s Lorneville (Invercargill), Pukeuri (Oamaru) and Smithfield (Timaru) plants.

This supply arrangement is the first time Marks & Spencer has agreed to an exclusive deal for chilled lamb from a single New Zealand supplier.

Marks & Spencer supplies a wide range of lamb products to its UK customers, with its fresh lamb cabinet featuring a full selection of bone-in and boneless cuts. The retailer’s added-value lamb lines also include ‘ready to roast’ leg joints as well as other ‘oven-ready’ cuts sold under the premium in-house ‘Cook!’ label.

Alliance Group marketing manager Murray Brown says, “This exclusive contract marks a major milestone in Alliance Group’s 20 year relationship with Marks & Spencer. As they have a loyal customer base for lamb, coupled with the fact that our chilled lamb programme runs counter-cyclical to the UK domestic supply season, we’re very excited about the growth opportunities it offers for everyone involved. This deal is good news for our farmer suppliers.”

Brown added: “As a result of the strengthened relationship, Alliance Group is also now actively exploring a number of other initiatives in our agricultural, technical and commercial divisions with Marks & Spencer to maximise the benefits of this partnership.”

Steve McLean, head of agriculture and fisheries sourcing at Marks & Spencer, says: “We are looking forward to growing our partnership with the Alliance Group and strengthening our links with their producers. We are impressed with Alliance Group’s commitment to high quality lamb production, and I am confident they will meet the taste and tenderness requirements of our discerning customers.”

All Alliance Group products supplied to Marks & Spencer will be sourced from registered M&S Select farms so that the co-operative can trace lambs back to their farm of origin.

The M&S Select Farm scheme sees supplying farmers registered on M&S TRAK, a traceability management system launched by Marks & Spencer in 2009. The programme, which includes lamb suppliers from both New Zealand and the UK, features a database that monitors farm-management, animal origin and livestock records.

Meanwhile, in conjunction with AbacusBio (UK), Alliance Group is progressing with the introduction of its Hoofprint programme to a group of selected UK farmers supplying lambs to Marks & Spencer.

Hoofprint helps farmers monitor the carbon footprint associated with their farm, whilst also focusing on improving productivity. The web-based farmer-friendly programme analyses performance information based on the data collected from each farm in order to determine the size of its carbon footprint. The Hoofprint model will be released to all registered TRAK suppliers in New Zealand.

Marks & Spencer uses two UK based meat processors, Dawn Meats Ltd and Scotbeef Ltd, to cut and retail pack their New Zealand chilled lamb in the marketplace. Both of these companies are already well known to Alliance Group, with personnel from each processor having visited Alliance on a number of occasions in recent years.

Marks & Spencer is one of the UK’S leading retailers with more than 21 million customers every week. The company employs over 78,000 people in the UK and abroad, and has over 700 UK stores, plus an expanding international business operating in 43 different territories around the world.

 

Meat exports contribute to trade surplus

Meat and edible offal export values – New Zealand’s second largest export commodity – have contributed to a seasonally adjusted trade surplus of $147 million,  led by an increase in exports, according to new merchandise trade figures released today by Statistics NZ.

The surplus follows trade deficits of $698 million in the March 2012 quarter and $581 million in the June 2012 quarter.

Exports rose by 5.1 percent to $11.9 billion in the September 2012 quarter, says Statistics NZ. While the increase was led by a rise of 16 percent ($450 million) in the value of milk powder, butter and cheese, meat and edible offal  was also up 10 percent in value ($128 million), with quantities up 14 percent. Value increases for fruit and wine also contributed.

The trend for exports is 1.8 percent lower than its record high of September 2011.

 

Positive signs in Europe

There are positive signs in Europe for New Zealand lamb, beef and venison meats and co-products according to Silver Fern Farms which has finalised its plans for Christmas chilled lamb sales and completed its overall sales plan for 2012/2013 with positive outcomes, it says.

The company’s sales teams have been active in Europe over the past two weeks, culminating in the European food fair SIAL in Paris last weekend.

“Working with our Aalst office team in Belgium, we have met and concluded business with many European customers who appear to have regained confidence based on supply and stability of value, which is underpinning the overall market sentiment from European customers,” says chief executive Keith Cooper.

For general manager sales and marketing Glenn Tyrrell, this early confidence is a healthy sign. “It will likely lead to sustained demand and relising on food service delivery cards, something which has been lacking lately due to the price hike in 2011,” he says.

In the UK, Marks and Spencer (M&S) recently put up their annual six month supply of chilled NZ lamb for sole tender. “As we could not offer organic lamb to M&S, the Alliance Group picked up this tender. While unfortunate, given the effort from both Silver Fern Farms and suppliers who have supported M&S for the last five years, our priority is to maximise organic and overall chilled supply to Tesco which has fully supported development of our branded retail packs in their store,” says Tyrrell.

Silver Fern Farms continues to be optimistic on beef with a prediction for schedule prices to farmers of $3.60 a kg during the season heading to $4.20 per kg, according to Cooper. “Venison is forecast to track up from a low of $6.70-8.00 per kg next October and lamb is likely to bottom out at peak season post-Christmas at $4.80 per kg and will progressively build to $5.80 per kg this time next year,” he says.

“It is clear the European market cannot be taken for granted,” comments Cooper. “Market forces over 2011/2012 saw a downturn in sales and a major price correction, in market and at farm gate. Now this has passed, many customers are looking to relist products but they are also looking for marketing support and price stability. These opportunities fit particularly well with Silver Fern Farms’ strategy of creating value in the way of a truly integrated value chain – linking consumers to farmer suppliers.”

 

Greener pastures

New Zealand has the potential to capture $1.3 trillion more in agricultural exports between now and 2050 if targeted actions are taken, according to a new report recently released by ANZ.

An ANZ Insight report Greener Pastures: The Global Soft Commodity Opportunity for Australia and New Zealand quantifies the size of the opportunity open to New Zealand and Australian agriculture as a result of the shift in global economic growth to Asia.

Key findings from the report are that rising incomes and changing diets in developing countries mean the world will demand at least 60 percent more agricultural output by 2050, compared with 2005-2007. New Zealand could stand to gain an additional $550 million, which could increase to $1.3 trillion with favourable conditions and targeted actions, the report says. However, intense competition from emerging players with countries like Brazil, Malaysia and Indonesia becoming major threats. It also determines that $340 million in additional capital is needed to drive production growth and support NZ farm turnover between now and 2050.

Capturing the opportunities offered to the potential “food bowl of Asia” will not happen of its own accord, says Graham Turley ANZ’s managing director commercial and agriculture. “Significant barriers exist that will have to be overcome at every step of the supply chain.”

Sourcing capital to find growth, attracting skilled labour, intensified focus on national agricultural R&D, improving supply chains and targeting key markets are among those barriers.

“The danger we face is that we are not alone in seeking to exploit the global soft commodity boom and countries, like Brazil with its highly successful soy industry, are leading the charge.”

“If we are serious about wanting to develop vibrant, globally dominant and highly profitable industries, we need all stakeholders in the industry to work together to bring about change.

“There are environmental issues and foreign and domestic investment comfort levels that New Zealanders also need to consider in making these choices. These are the choices facing policy makers as they strive to make New Zealand more economically successful,” says Turley.

 

 

Meat export revenue down in June quarter, says MPI

Lamb leads a drop in export meat revenue for the June 2012 quarter, according to the latest figures from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

The Ministry’s Primary Industries: Production and Trade report for the June 2012 quarter, says that this is mostly because of lower export prices from weaker international demand and a build up in meat stocks in New Zealand, particularly for lamb, which fell by 25.6 percent against the same period a year earlier. Venison also  recorded a fall of 15.1 percent for the quarter and beef and veal -2.9 percent. In total,  meat export revenue for the quarter, was down 14.4 percent to $1.6 billion. Lamb production, however, was up 5.9 percent in the year ended June 2012, with slaughter numbers up 2.4 percent and carcase weights up 2.5 percent on the previous year, says MPI.

“This reflects increased numbers of lambs born in late winter and early spring 2011 and a record average carcase weight of 18.48kg.”

Beef production fell by 1.8 percent in the quarter due to lower slaughter numbers, particularly for cows and heifers, reflecting lower beef cattle inventories at the end of the 2011 season and retentions for an expanding national dairy milking herd.

Offals seem to have had a healthy year with quarterly revenue increasing for ‘other meat’ of 8.5 percent and a year-on-year increase of 10.7 percent, to end June 2012.

Another significant highlight is that China became the number one market for frozen bone-in lamb cuts in the six months to end June, with the European Union now taking second spot, according to MPI. “However, average export prices of lamb sold to China re about half that received in the EU,” the report concedes.

All but one industry grouping experienced a decline in export revenues, the report says. Overall, primary sector revenue for the June quarter was down 5.8 percent, compared with the final quarter in 2011, to $8.8 million. However,  during the year ending June 2012 there was a production-driven revenue increase of 1.3 percent to just over $32 billion, due to favourable climatic conditions, MPI says.

Climate conditions for pasture growth for the year ended June 2012 were the best since 2002, MPI notes, with 51.4 days of soil moisture deficit compared to the 20-year average of 61.6  – resulting in record carcase weights for lambs, heifers and cows and record milk solids per cow.

The full report Primary Industries: Production and Trade is available for download at the MPI website (search under Publications).

 

 

 

 

It’s official: Firstlight Venison shareholders internationally recognised for sustainable excellence

Congratulations to Central Hawke’s Bay deer farmers, Tim Aitken and Lucy Robertshawe, who have now been officially confirmed as the 2012 ‘Champion of Champions’ in the Marks & Spencer Farming for the Future Award.

Adding to comments made about the couple’s earlier International Producer category win Steve McLean, Head of Agriculture & Fisheries Sourcing at M&S, says: “Their efforts clearly resonated with our customers as well, as they secured the majority of our public votes, so we are delighted to crown them ‘Champion of Champions’!”

Tim and Lucy are key deer breeders for the Firstlight Venison Producer Group, farming 600 breeding hinds and their progeny at their property near Tikokino. Firstlight solely focuses on producing and marketing high quality young venison, and the 24 farmer-shareholders within the Producer Group work collaboratively to supply to the UK’s top retailers who prefer farm-assured product.

Gerard Hickey, managing director of Firstlight Venison says the company is proud to congratulate the pair. “This award is great news: it vindicates the investment Firstlight Venison has made in developing its UK retail market and we’re pleased to be able to support Marks & Spencer in raising their venison exposure and sales.”