Goat industry's fears eased

By KARYN SCHERER

The Government has soothed dairy goat industry fears that it will be deregulated by default once the dairy mega-merger goes ahead next month.

Hamilton-based Dairy Goat Co-operative is a farmer co-operative with 82 supplying shareholders that brings more than $30 million of export earnings to New Zealand.

The Dairy Board has been administering an export permit system for the industry since the mid-1980s, when it collapsed through lack of co-ordination.

At the time, eight co-operatives were competing for sales with little co-ordinated marketing.

Co-operative chief executive Dave Stanley said the industry was concerned it would be sidelined once the Dairy Board Act was repealed.

"We don't feel that just because the cow dairy industry is moving towards a position of deregulation it should automatically affect our industry in the same way."

Mr Stanley said a meeting with politicians in Wellington last week, which included primary production select committee chairman Damien O'Connor, reassured the industry that its concerns were being addressed.

While the Government was not yet convinced that separate legislation was necessary, it had not ruled out including the industry in the new legislation.

"I guess the message that we've got is that our position is being heard and the Government is looking to find a way to work with us on this."

Mr Stanley said the industry had been concerned ideology might get in the way of the "harsh realities" of the international market.

Since export controls had been introduced, sales had grown from about $1 million a year to $30 million a year.

The industry's calls follow a decision by the Government to deregulate the apple and pear industry from October. The move is supported by most apple and pear growers, although the kiwifruit industry remains strongly opposed.

Mr Stanley said farmers had sent a strong message to the Government at its business forum in Hamilton in March that there was no single solution to differing problems in the agricultural and horticultural sectors.

"At the moment Treasury is very strongly of the belief that the time is right for a fully deregulated approach, but my own view is you have to approach each industry in its own right.

"The dairy cow industry has been going for 120 years and is in a very different position to the dairy goat industry that's been going for 20 years.

"We're not asking for new regulations to support us, just continuation of existing legislation."

Most goat milk production in New Zealand is manufactured into powder that is used to make consumer-packaged nutritional products.

Dairy Goat Co-operative