Toby Williams: Federated Farmers spokesperson says hundreds of job losses expected for meat industry amid shrinking livestock numbers

A bleak outlook for the meat export industry with jobs and plants likely to go from next year. 

Affco is predicting the loss of hundreds of meat processing jobs due to the country's shrinking livestock numbers. 

The industry's forecasting 1 million fewer lambs to be available for processing next season. 

Federated Farmers meat and wool industry group chair Toby Williams told Mike Hosking there's a couple of factors contributing to low lamb numbers. 

“There’s a slowdown in China who aren’t taking as much sheep meat as they were. We’ve also got Australia – Australia's slaughtering record numbers of lambs at the moment, so there’s just too much sheep meat in the world.” 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We've got the old land conversion to bake that's alive
and well in rural New Zealand. At the moment. We've
got a warning from AFCO as in the meat process
is that jobs will be lost, plants will be shut
due to declining livestock numbers. We're expected to be a
million lambs short this year. So why well, because land's
been converted of course to pine trees. Federated Farmers Meat
and Will Industry Group chaired Toby Williams is with us
on this Toby Morning to.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
You of all.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
The stuff that's been talked about in rural New Zealand
at the moment, this conversion to pine trees and stuff.
How big a deal is it?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Oh, it's a pretty big deal. We've been talking about
it for about four or five years now when we're
starting to see the consequences of what we've warned about
going unchecked a foresty tests we had under the previous
governments and the consequences that will have on rural New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Here's your problem, though, from all the reading I did
and I did, there was a report out last week.
The money's not there for sheep, It's not there for wool.
It's not there for meat, it is there for trees.
So why wouldn't you convert to trees?

Speaker 2 (00:51):
No, exactly right. If you're a landowner, you're going to
do the best for you, do the best for you
for your return, so there's no creditors as landowners. The
criticisms that we have around government setting that are favoring
short term carbon over long term prosterity part of New Zealands. Look,
we don't look far enough into the future. We just
pre bended on everything.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
Here's the problem I wridden this report from last week,
and that is the community aspect of it. Once you
plant a pedddic full of trees, no one's coming to
town anymore, are they.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
No, that's you know, your bike shop, you're bets all
those people who the service industry, who services are all
sector aren't required thirty years until you start harvesting. And
even then the job numbers are less because you're only
the handles for people actually in the area to harvest
those trees now with modern machinery.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
So what's the answer. I mean, you talk about the government,
but do you see any light at the end of
the tunnel? For the price of wall of the price
of lamp.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, I do. I think probably we're probably another eighteen
months away for plus from the price of lamp, while
slowly sort of getting there. But I mean the horse
want of bolts there already. We'll see the are really
great things over the weekend of companies of the air
sorters and that union lever using ball and air filters. Yep.
But it's all good, but it's not using the volumes
that we need, so we need it faster and I

(02:01):
know Minister Patterson as dead Keenland having it by five
dollars the end of the year, but we're not seeing
too much to progress that at the moment.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
And as far as lamb's concerned, what's holding that down?
I mean the lamb we make at the top end
of the lamb tree, it's the best in the world
by a mile.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
Yeah, And as there's a couple of things there. There's
slow down in China who aren't taking as much sheep
thinks as they were. But I've also got Australia. Australia's
producing record numbers of them. They always shaughtering record numbers
of lambs at the moment, so there's just too much
seat meat in the world.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
But that's crack lamb though, isn't it. We all know that.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
Well, it's different to what we have. Are very good,
but at the end of day, it's a competing protein.
If you can buy teaper proteins somewhere else, you do.
I guess.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
So what about companies like Brimworth who are trying to
spook wool and then you've got the fine wall market.
Does any of that getting any traction? Is that working?

Speaker 2 (02:47):
Yeah? It is. I mean Brimworth for us are really
really incredible. They're showing some grand leadership. You're paying more
for their wall and that wanted to cut their wall
withy growers and said, here's a contract. You know, we'll
guarantee you a minimum price and and we want your business.
They're targeting that high in New York market. Everybody wants.
Everybody wants to crack flooring in their houses. But if

(03:07):
you know, sorry, it echoes and you need some beautiful
wall news there and Rugby on there, so brilliant.

Speaker 1 (03:13):
Exactly where to see. The counter problem that you're facing
is of course this business of it's it's it's super
cool to plant trees because we're saving the world. I mean,
how do you, how do you counter that.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
Well, that's there. You know, you can save the world
from little Old New Zealand, or we can you know,
we can look at it to having mosaic of land
news prietaries are important. We should be integrating them into
the landscape as opposed to whole catcher and planting. And
we've seen the consequences of you know, when we've plant
all the white catchups are done on these toasts, and
we see the consequences of poor quality harvesting. And also

(03:44):
we're seeing the lack of forthort about having to use
that timber into the future. We've got mills closing all
over the place because you know, we're not producing anything
in the world needs anymore.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
No, it makes sense to me. Toby go, well, appreciate
it very much. Good and so Toby Williams, Federator Farmers
Meeting will Industry Group Chair. He's good, doesn't he like him?
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