NZ Meat Industry: Silver Fern, Alliance look at sourcing lamb from Uruguay
November 23rd, 2009
Silver Fern Farms may move to a global strategy for sourcing meat for export markets, with an initial evaluation of lamb from Uruguay. CEO Keith Cooper says the process is “a work in progress” and “very, very early days.” Silver Fern would join Alliance Group in assessing offshore sources of meat, in much the same way as Fonterra originates milk from more than just NZ. Cooper says “This is about market orientation. We struggle in winter. This is about continuity of supply.”
The ability to service export customers such as European supermarket chains is a key part of Silver Fern’s pasture to plate strategy. It wants to gain more control over sales in a market where mega-retailers can use their sheer size to dictate prices. The buyers are more likely to enter favourable long-term contracts when quantity and quality can be guaranteed year round. Cooper says part of the evaluation is how to brand up the meat sourced in third countries. The meat “would have to be to our standards.”
Alliance chief executive Grant Cuff is even more circumspect. He’s awaiting a report back from an executive team just back from South America. Cuff says it is the third such trip by Alliance in the past decade and any potential for sourcing meat from the continent or making more sales there of NZ product is “very early days.” He says there would be an issue standing behind meat from a third country “A lot of time and effort has gone into developing its brands such as ‘Pure South.’ Naturally we would be cautious about putting other raw material” into our brands.”
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