Affco chairman stays confident

ID 131776/DIANE BISHOP

AFFCO LEADERS: Affco chairman Sam Lewis (left) chatting with Affco South Island livestock manager Keith Hamill and South Pacific Meats plant manager Malcolm Hampton about prospects for lamb before a meeting in Gore last night.

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Affco was confident of maintaining its market share in Southland despite a major decline in the ewe flock, chairman Sam Lewis said.

Mr Lewis said the company, which has poured significant investment into its South Pacific Meats plant at Awarua, was processing about 600,000 sheep, lambs and bobby calves each season.

"We have a small footprint in Southland so we're not after the last lamb — but we are confident of maintaining our share," he said.

Mr Lewis told about 40 suppliers at a meeting in Gore last night that Affco had injected about $135 million into plant upgrades and another $175 million into repairs and maintenance projects over the past five years.

It bought a meat plant at Malvern, near Christchurch, in October last year and was focused on expanding its South Island beef kill. It had also moved into vension processing in the past year with "remarkable success" and now had about 25 per cent of the North Island deer kill.

"Our customers want everything, not just beef and lamb," Mr Lewis said.

The company openly talked about fears of a procurement war in the venison industry with the schedule now sitting around $9.50 a kg because of a supply and demand imbalance.

Mr Lewis said Affco's development of a broader food group meant it could supply a range of products to its overseas customers.

Along with beef, venison and lamb, the company which was 51 per cent owned by Talleys, could also supply consumers with fish, vegetables and icecream.

"Supermarkets are looking for suppliers with multiple interests." Mr Lewis said Affco was planning to increase its investment in automated technology and new machinery to reduce labour shortage problems which were plaguing the meat industry.

- © Fairfax NZ News