OPINION: Your canine crusader understands that while things might be looking rosy for meat sector returns at the moment, a chronic lack of workers means processors and exporters are missing out on even potentially bigger dividends.
The wheeze around the industry is that a great deal of added value is currently being lost mainly due to the Government's short-sighted immigration settings leaving meat processors across the country short-staffed and unable to process more refined cuts, which would earn them and farmers even more returns.
This crisis has been somewhat masked with NZ's red meat sector achieving record volumes of sales.
According to an analysis by the Meat Industry Association, $1.1 billion of NZ red meat was exported during July - a 26% increase on July 2021.
China remained the standout market with red meat exports worth $460 million, up 42% on last July.