Mr Taggart, who is also chairman, comfortably topped the election with 25,210,890 votes, followed by Mr Morrison (21,578,186) and unsuccessful challenger Leon Black (19,316,289).
There were 53.67% of eligible votes exercised and the results were announced at Alliance’s annual meeting in Nelson this week.
Chief executive David Surveyor told the meeting that confidence had lifted across several sheep meat markets in recent months and more positive signs of economic growth were appearing around the world.
Last month, the company announced a a $9.8million distribution to farmer shareholders and pool surplus payments would be deposited into bank accounts from this week. The distribution was lamb $1.50 per head, sheep $1, cattle $10, deer $5 and calves $1.
Alliance’s latest update to shareholders said post-Christmas chilled lamb business for the UK was now confirmed and the frozen market was firming, particularly for legs.
In Europe, interest remained firm for all middle cuts with some improvement in the leg and shoulder categories.
Both chilled and frozen programmes were now confirmed for North America, and demand was good across all product sectors.China had seen increased interest over the last few weeks as the domestic processing season wound down. However, market stability post-Chinese New Year still needed to be determined. The Middle East remained firm for chilled and frozen products.
Mutton kill numbers were starting to build and firm demand across several markets should assist in price stability.
Venison demand and prices remained firm. The reduced New Zealand supply remained a concern as herd rebuilding began and the company was struggling to maintain existing programmes in some markets.
US beef markets remained under pressure with prices dropping further this week. Chinese market levels had been steady for delivery of goods before Chinese New Year in late January, but price indications for post-Chinese New Year were slightly softer.
