Silver Fern secures meal and tallow sales

Farmer cooperative Silver Fern Farms and Modena Investments, jointly owned by
New Zealand tallow company Landmark and Italian rendering firm Societa Azionaria
Prodotti Industrali, have created a new company called Farm
Brands.

Silver Fern Farms chief executive Keith Cooper says the company
was formed to boost the production and sales of meal and tallow. Initially, it
will focus on marketing but will eventually build new processing
facilities.

Cooper says that will provide some protection for the
products, in case New Zealand follows the international trend of requiring
processed material to be handled outside of food sites.

He added that
Societa Azionaria Prodotti Industrali is one of the world’s leading processing
companies and its experience and knowledge will benefit the sector.

Most
of the 150,000 tonnes of meal produced in New Zealand each year is exported for
use in pet food and poultry feed, while more than 100,000 tonnes of tallow is
shipped to Asia to make soap.

Cooper said Farm Brands’ sales are expected
to exceed NZ$70 million (€ 30m) in the first year and the new company will not
affect Silver Ferns Farms’ staffing requirements.