Australian Fish Market Glutted: Exporters Warned

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31079, 7 June 1966, Page 8

Australian Fish Market Glutted: Exporters Warned

(N.Z. Press Assn. —Copyright) SYDNEY, June 6.

A leading Sydney importer warned the New Zealand fishing industry that it was at the cross-roads in its bid to capture a larger share of the Australian market.

With a glut of fish at present in Australia, he said that New Zealand exports would dwindle in the near future, unless exporters drastically reviewed their methods. Mr D. F. Townsend, of W. Angliss and Company (Aust.), Ltd., which is part of the huge Vesty food group, backed up comments made by trade officials at the recent series of Government-sponsored export seminars on Australia, held in the four main New Zealand centres.

In an interview, Mr Townsend said there was undoubtedly a huge prospective market for New Zealand fish in Australia.. But he emphasised that exporters must change their present attitude

and be prepared to meet the requirements of the Australian importer! Trade officials at the export seminars said that New Zealand's share of the Australian fish market was decreasing, in spite of the Dominion’s geographical advantage over its rival overseas suppliers. They said that Australia must be treated as a buyers’ market—not merely as an outlet for New Zealand's surplus stock. Mr Townsend said the fish situation in Australia had changed dramatically in the last few weeks. Buyers and wholesalers had over-estim-ated the market and were now left with large stocks they could not sell. He estimated that there was at present six months’ supply of fish stocked throughout Australia. Other sources in the industry pointed out that it was impossible to make an accurate estimate of current stocks, but there was no doubt that the Australian market was heavily over supplied. With no indication that the housewife was prepared to

buy more fish—even at today’s falling prices—Mr Townsend said it would take at least a year for the market to get back to a reasonable state of affairs. “And it will never revert to the sellers’ market that was in existence a year ago,” he forecast.

“There will be no ready market for New Zealand fish as there has been at times in the past, and this makes it essential that New Zealand exporters adopt new methods.” Mr Townsend called for changed packaging, more efficient freezing and the adoption of brand names to make New Zealand fish known and respected. “You must use modern packs in the right sizes, and the fish must be processed and handled in twentieth century conditions.” He pointed out that there was no demand for “New Zealand fish” as such in Australia. It was rarely labelled as coming from New Zealand in shops and restaurants. “Small, well-packaged consumer packs, with a readily identifiable brand name, could create a demand for New Zealand fish,” he said.

“You will never create a demand by merely flooding the market with anything you want to get rid of.” Mr Townsend said that one of Australia's largest suppliers was South Africa. Of its total exports of frozen hake fillets to Australia in the nine months to the end of March, one third was unsold. He said the basic wholesale price had dropped by nine cents (about 8d N.Z.) per lb, and estimated that South African exporters had written off about £N.Z.40,000. “That this could happen to a country that has been exporting large quantities here for the last seven or eight years, is a warning to New Zealand,” he said.

DECIMAL CONVERSIONS

Pecnnal currency will oe Introduced In New Zealand in July. 1967 Recommended conversion rates from Is to’ 5s are as follows:

is 10c IS 8d 17c Is Id lie Is 9d 18c 18 2d 12c Is 10d 18c Is 3d 12c Is lid INC Is 4d 13C 2s 20c 18 5d 14c 3s 30c Is 6d 15C 4s 40c 1s 7d '1«c 5w 50c