increase font size
Simon Limmer.
Disruption in China caused by the coronavirus is forcing meat processor Silver Fern Farms to reduce production from next week.
Read: Coronavirus forces NZ meat shipments away from China.
In an email to farmer suppliers, SFF chief executive Simon Limmer says mutton production will be impacted.
“Mutton production will be impacted from next week with limited capacity available nationally for processing until there is greater clarity around the situation in China,” Limmer says.
“We are turning down processing volumes in the very short term to reduce the future risk of significant stoppages in our plants.”
Limmer says the coronovirus health emergency combined with the timing of the China New Year holiday has impacted trade: China businesses, ports and government departments are operating at restricted capacity.
“People are under movement restrictions and in many cases cannot get to work, or back home, potentially for at least another week,” he says.
“With congestions at port, movements of product into China are being disrupted with delays becoming a reality We are having to hold product in New Zealand which had already been produced for China.
“This has begun to place significant stress on all cold storage facilities across New Zealand If the situation continues for an extended period of time our cold stores will become full, and that will impact our ability to continue processing in some plants.”
Chinese officials have confirmed over 7,700 cases of the mysterious illness as foreign governments, including New Zealand, are airlifting their citizens out of Wuhan, the outbreak’s epicenter.
Some parts of China including Wuhan have movement restrictions in place. The coronavirus outbreak has been declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation.
As dairy farmers lock in plans for the upcoming mating season, a partnership between Fonterra and Silver Fern Farms has been formed with the aim of making it simpler to create additional value from calves not entering the replacement herd.
China remains New Zealand’s biggest market, taking $23 billion of our exports, but it’s no longer a commodity story, says Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
Fonterra is strengthening its foodservice presence in China with the launch of a new cream for professional bakeries at Bakery China 2026 in Shanghai.
Applications for Silver Fern Farms Co-operative's next board-appointed farmer director are open.
Silver Fern Farms has tackled the ongoing war-induced shipping challenges to mideast markets by airlifting 90 tonnes of chilled New Zealand lamb and beef to the United Arab Emirates.
Oamaru-based livestock handling specialist Te Pari has bought Combi Clamp, the New Zealand manufacturer of Combi Clamp manual sheep handlers.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.
A new app designed in New Zealand aims to help sheep, beef and deer farmers capture, analyse and use body condition score data more effectively.
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
For over 50 years Mel Ewers has been supporting the apple sector navigate through compliance and quality assurance issues.
The apple sector is enjoying a bumper harvest season.
A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any…
OPINION: It really is getting harder to lampoon government bureaucrats when they do such a good job of it themselves.…
