The poultry sector remained the grain industry’s top customer and it was experiencing a boom in egg exports with demand for poultry meat also rising.
Poultry had headed the top five sectors in terms of compound feed consumption in 2015, Feed Manufacturers’ Association executive director Michael Brooks said in his address to the grain and seed industry forum in Canterbury.
Chicken made up 97% of the poultry sector with duck and turkey at 3% but growing.
“Duck has really exploded.
“It has become the go-to restaurant dish in Australia and it’s taking off in New Zealand with huge potential,” Brooks said.
Poultry compound feed consumption had increased 9.3% in one year.
At number two, layer hens were up 6.5% while pigs at three were down 4.3%, dairy at four, down a whopping 50.1% and calves down 8.9%.
Dairy was the second biggest user in 2014.
Chicken had grown 6% year-on-year over the past five or so years with 110 million meat chickens grown in NZ in 2015 and on track for 119m in 2016.
“Exports are a fast growing area.
“The free-range sector is growing, leading to more feed requirement per bird, that equals more opportunity to sell grain,” Brooks said.
“With NZ being the only country in the world poultry disease free, the industry is a big success story in terms of grain growers with meat chickens a target market.”
NZ’s layer flock had increased to the largest ever at 3.65m.
“Eggs are a boom industry. Exports are exploding as well.”
Brooks encouraged the grains industry to come to the party.
Arable farmers growing superior quality grain versus imported Australian wheat could get more aggressive in the poultry industry.
The transport costs were the downfall.
“It’s cheaper for Inghams to bring wheat from Perth than from the South Island,” Brooks said.
“It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.
“Perhaps South Island Feds want to buy a boat.”
Flour Millers’ association executive Garth Gillam said NZ had four milling companies with seven mills operating across the country at about 68%.
While the South Island mills used only domestic grain, mills in the North Island imported about 98% of their grain, mainly from Australia.
Market trends were about healthy eating, how people saw and felt was first up as to how they selected what they put in their mouths. Price and food safety followed closely.
“Being able to diversify into new products will be our saviour, doing the same old, same old, is not going to cut the mustard anymore.”
Garth Gillam
Flour Millers Assn
“Price is now driven by the global pressures on us. We have got to keep ahead of those trends to be able to compete globally.
“If we want to be better, we have to do better,” Gillam said.
“Being able to diversify into new products will be our saviour, doing the same old, same old is not going to cut the mustard any more.”
The opportunity to grow in value and sales was in traceability.
“Paddock to plate traceability is an open opportunity for NZ growers.”
NZ needed to think smarter in its delivery and service.
“In terms of NZ transport logistics we can pull back some of the global pressure coming on us if we think smarter and do better,” Gillam said.
NZ had huge global market advantage with its unique raw materials.
“NZ-grown grains are well recognised in world markets and that’s a direct reflection on quality.
“If we can keep the balance of quality in the product, that’s worth a lot of money.”
NZ also had a unique selling point in that its milling wheat was stored in onfarm silos with different varieties kept separate.
“Grain in one big bucket will lose us quality and consistency and that means lose us value.
“If millers can use and produce to specific market end-users that equals big value opportunity for NZ.”
Gillam urged farmers and industry to get their feet under the same table.
“If we all work together, once we understand where we want to go, we will get there,” he said.
New Zealand has a unique selling point in keeping different grains separate in onfarm silos.
