New Zealand pork may soon be on Aussie tables
New Zealand pork will soon be sold in Australia for the first time although the market will be a niche one, New Zealand Pork chairman Ian Carter says.
Consumers would be attracted to New Zealand pork by its quality and the high animal welfare standards adopted by the industry.
Carter would not forecast how much the industry hoped to sell in Australia because it would depend on how successfully exporting companies took up the opportunities opened up by a new access agreement.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has negotiated access to Australia for uncooked New Zealand pork meat and products containing New Zealand pork. Pork exports are limited at this stage to a small number of markets, such as the Pacific Islands and Singapore. New Zealand exported about 173 tonnes of pork in total valued at about $1 million in the year to last June. Pork exports have waxed and waned. In the late 1930s, Britain took more than 28,000 tonnes a year but exports have fallen away.
New Zealand also used to be self-sufficient in pork but imports now make up almost 60 per cent of meat consumed. At the same time pig farm numbers have declined to about 100. Uncooked pork meat will require further processing once it arrives into Australia.
Pork exports to Australia can start immediately.
‘‘New Zealand has a very strong meat regulatory system, which is held in high regard by our trading partners,’’ MPI’s deputy directorgeneral policy and trade Jarred Mair said.
Carter said access to Australia would provide a boost for New Zealand’s pork industry.
‘‘We see the granting of access to Australia as an important formative step to explore export markets that value the qualities associated with pork and pork products produced from pigs born and raised in New Zealand.’’
The pork would not be sold using the Freedom Farms brand, as it is domestically. Much of the trade would be to restaurants.