Increasing Place For Lamb Cuts

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31109, 12 July 1966, Page 11

Increasing Place For Lamb Cuts

The indications were that production of j am b in cut form m New Zealand would have to be greatly increased in the future Mr P D. Hewland, director of trade promotion to the Meat Board, said in a talk to farmers in North Canterbury last week. in

Mr Hewland said that pointers to this was experience in Japan with the boneless rolled shoulder, for which a strong demand had been built up, and in the United States, Britain and elsewhere with other cuts. This development had been going o n f° r some time already. Cutting of lamb in considerable volume had begun a few years ago when the Meat Export Development Company had decided to export lamb in primal cuts to the United States. Parallel with this was the growth of sales of the cheaper cuts from these lambs to West Africa. Very recently there had been increasing development of

fhipments in cuts to the United Kingdom.

Destinations .k . 15 reasona ble to expect that just as cuts from the one beef carcase today may go to many places, so, too, will cuts from the one lamb be destined for several different markets—a shoulder to Japan, a loin to Britain and a leg to the United States. At present there was still the problem that in cutting lamb the freezing works in New Zealand had very considerable difficulties to overcome. There were problems of organisation, cost and staffing. The operation could be economic to a company only if the various portions could be sold at prices giving a total return covering all of the extra costs. Boning of Mutton The bulk of mutton exports to Japan was still in carcases. Boning of mutton in Japanese plants had become highly developed, but there was also an increased demand from the Japanese trade for shipments of boneless mutton (bulk-packed cartons), and, for the retail trade for boned, rolled shoulders of lamb. The Japanese housewife was not accustomed to buying bone and the butcher was not always equipped with staff or space to do the boning out The retail butcher, like the housewife, looked for a “convenience” product to cut down his own labour.

Not only in Japan was this interest in boneless lamb developing. This was the trend in certain other markets, too. “If the extra costs can be absorbed into the price, New Zealand may significantly increase earnings of overseas exchange,” commented Mr Hewland.