New Zealand's sheepmeat industry will recover without the risky "major surgery" some are promoting, Federated Farmers Wairarapa meat and fibre chairman Alan Stuart says. His comments come as a group of South Islanders the Meat Industry Action Group continue to push for a "champion" New Zealand meatcompany beginning with the merger of the two largest co-operatives PPCS and Alliance. Mr Stuart said the sheepmeat industry's difficulties came from four factors: A two-year drought, a "massive and unpredicted increase" in competition for land from dairy, a 30-year-high New Zealand dollar value against the US$ and fallout from the last industry takeover. "You've just to be very careful," Mr Stuart said. "I don't have a problem with any two companies getting together, but I don't want to see a massive upheaval in the whole industry. "We witnessed the upheaval when PPCS took over Richmond, and it held the schedule down for 1? to two years. It stuffed the industry for about two years, because they had a huge debt and they were the biggest company in New Zealand. They set the pace on the price schedule and the rest of the industry just followed them down." Mr Stuart said he wanted to see freezing works that could handle peak flows of lamb. "If they (combined meat companies) are going to take out eight freezing works that might not happen. "I'm not a shareholder but I own the product. If I can't get it killed at the peak of the season then it's not working for me." Mr Stuart said farmers were now asking "questions of our industry and the ability to perform". "But & is it prudent to radically transform an industry which has evolved from over 150 years of trading & (considering) the above convergence of disastrous outcomes? Knee-jerk reactions aren't viable in a situation which requires well-considered and reasoned debate." Mr Stuart said sheepmeat marketing to date has been "a great success story" and things will improve. I believe prices will lift considerably when the $ drops and drought effects have subsided," Mr Stuart said.
