The economic aspect of the pig industry of New Zealand

Abstract

It is frequently the case that a person who is closely associated with a sphere of activity is much less aware of its outstanding characteristics than one having but a casual association. On a student whose first real contact with the pig industry was as a worker in a large stockmarket, a number of features of that industry left an imprint that prompted a much deeper and more detailed investigation than had been made previously in the particular economic sphere in which he was interested. Specifically, a lasting impression was made by hearing a constant stream of complaints by buyers concerning the poor quality of the product marketed by the farmers, by seeing the filth, smell and disease which was apparent in everything connected with pig, by watching the erratic movements of yardings and pig prices and listening to the grumblings of producers, by noting the practices adopted by individual vendors in attempting to secure highest prices when these practices could only harm the industry as a whole, by observing that while some were able to net a considerable proportion of their total farm income from pigs others neglected the opportunity to do so, and, finally, by discerning that pig production was not motivated by clearly conceived objectives which would readily enable the formation of a national policy with the object of expanding the industry as a source of profit. An attempt to assemble written information on the economics of the pig industry of New Zealand revealed an almost complete absence of research into this particular aspect though a few enthusiasts had investigated problems concerned with breeding and nutrition. The cases where economic problems alone had been dealt with were very rare indeed, it being usual to find that vital economic interests, where mentioned at all, were remarked on in a superficial fashion in the course of discussing some main topic such as feeding. Little help was forthcoming from articles prepared by overseas worker since conditions obtaining there are totally different from New Zealand conditions. Much statistical and other information not being available from secondary sources, data had to be gathered from original sources which necessitated the personal canvassing of farmers, stock firms, saleyards proprietors, marketing organisations, transport authorities, abattoirs, bacon-curing establishments and similar institutions, while official and semi-official sources such as the census and statistics Department and the New Zealand Meat Producers' Board were prevailed upon on countless occasions to supply unpublished information which sometimes threw a very different light on points under investigation. The amount of work involved in analysing, sorting, rejecting, assembling and presenting such information naturally occupied a considerable amount of time and it is felt that the present work is sadly lacking in completeness quite apart from other serious defects.