Meat shelf life concern as ships slow down

Meat exporters are worried container vessels reducing cruising speed to save fuel could shorten the shelf life of chilled meat.

The so called slow-steaming policy sees vessels reducing speed from the normal 24 knots to 18, in a bid to save fuel and reduce carbon emissions, but in doing so it could reduce the shelf life of chilled meat from 15 days to 10.

Meat Industry Association chief executive Tim Ritchie said of more concern were trials by some shipping lines to reduce cruising speed further, to 14 knots, which would give chilled meat a shelf life of just five to six days.

Mr Ritchie said he had raised concerns with the New Zealand Shippers Council and individual meat companies were also talking to their shipping companies.

The policy appeared to have come in with very little consultation, which he said also showed that exporters no longer enjoyed the influence they once had.

Most New Zealand meat was trans-shipped on to larger container vessels at an Asian port, and it was on the next leg, to markets in Europe, that lines were adopting the slow-steaming policy.

At 24 knots, a shipment took 12 days from production to loading, 32 days in transit, four days for processing and distribution, leaving 15 days of shelf life.

Mr Ritchie said at a speed of 18 knots from Asia to Europe, transit took 37 days, leaving 10 days' shelf life, but at 14 knots, transit took 41 days, with just five days' shelf life.

He said some shipping times differed, depending on port calls and routes taken.

The growing popularity of chilled as opposed to frozen meat has been a success story for the New Zealand meat industry, allowing the meat to be treated and promoted as fresh, not frozen.

Volumes of chilled meat now account for more than 20% of exports, after being almost negligible 20 years ago, while frozen carcasses falling from more than 80% of exports to less than 5% over the same period.

Alliance Group chief executive Grant Cuff said the slow-steaming policy had significant repercussions, especially meeting key high consumption chilled lamb periods at Christmas and Easter.

He said the policy showed New Zealand exporters had little influence over how shipping lines operated, but Alliance was looking at whatit could do in plants toextend the shelf life of chilled meat and it was also looking to attract other shipping lines.

Silver Fern Farms chief executive Keith Cooper said so far the policy change had increased total rotation time, but ships were adopting the slow-steaming policy during southbound transit when they tended to carry drygoods.

"Northbound transit times are less affected, as shipping companies have dropped some ports on northbound routes in an effort to maintain reasonable transit times and compensate for any slow steaming."