Pork industry the loser when it comes to Lotto
Farmed pork is fighting more than just beef and chicken for a place on your plate — it’s also fighting the school holidays and the Lotto jackpot.
In the documentary a pig farmer from Otago mentions that every time Lotto jackpots pork sales fall. Ian Carter says it’s because people cut back on buying meat so they can afford to buy more tickets.
Carter’s 270ha Otago farm caters to 2000 pigs and 550 cattle.
The former chairman of New Zealand Pork — he stood down last month — says the industry is fighting for the attention of local consumers more and more.
The attention of the consumer dollar is being divided on nonessential items which means less is spent on food, he says.
Several things influence pork sales, he says. “[In] school holidays ... people go out and eat more often, fast food gets a lift, traditional meals are consumed less often.”
During a Lotto jackpot the industry ended up with excess pork.
HTo watch the documentary go to nzherald.co.nz
The difference between the pork industry and other industries is it doesn’t have a seasonal production system, but there are seasonal trends.
During those off times, after Easter and before Christmas, was when the industry increased its promotion in a bid to curb the trough in the season.
“We try to understand consumer trends and behaviour to mitigate downsides for farmers,” he says. “It’s recognising short weeks and recognising it is a celebratory meat. It is for special occasions, the only protein that can be eaten for three meals.”
The information on spending habits was taken from vendors’ feedback nationwide letting the industry know what weeks were good and what was bad.
He says the industry does it tough fighting for the attention of local consumers and the import pork market. Currently 42 per cent of pork is produced in New Zealand and 58 per cent is imported.
Each year 46,000 tonnes of pork is produced and on average each person eats 23kg.
director David White said during his time with Carter the bizarre pork-Lotto link was raised.
“Sometimes these declines would happen for one week, at others for two or sometimes three or more.
“It made little sense until someone made the connection between that and Lotto jackpotting,” White said.
A Countdown spokeswoman said sales could fluctuate for a number of reasons such as “price, the time of year, specials, seasons” so it was hard to say what impact Lotto had specifically on pork sales.
Foodstuffs and Lotteries NZ were also contacted for comment.