The Government is promising to assist in the restructuring of the beleaguered meat industry, should it be presented with a credible plan.
The industry is weighed down by excess processing capacity, low profitability and falling sheep numbers.
Agriculture Minister David Carter said, in an interview, managed company consolidation, rather than leaving restructuring to market forces, had advantages.
He doubted government assistance would extend to helping pay for plant closures, but the Government could look favourably at a request for a legislation changes to bypass Commerce Commission rules that would otherwise prevent company mergers.
Mr Carter acknowledged such a step would require co-operation, something he said strong industry personalities had in the past blocked, but the landscape was shifting and if the industry did not change, the viability of the meat and wool sectors would continue to be undermined.
He described the sheep industry as not being in crisis, but facing many problems, evident by the continued decline in sheep numbers and profitability and the growth of dairying.
Sheep were being squeezed between the more profitable dairying on the best quality farm land, and planting carbon-credit-earning forests on hill country.
Mr Carter conceded that governments had helped the dairy industry with legislation to assist the formation of Fonterra, while the emissions trading scheme had provided another income stream for forest owners.
"Whereas we have let the meat industry exist and survive without the assistance of Government, and it has got some problems."
A meeting with meat industry leaders a year ago had failed to result in any progress.
He said, however, there had been a change in attitude, that farmers and industry leaders were aware the Government was concerned at the state of the industry and that it would help.
He also welcomed news the Meat Industry Association and Beef and Lamb New Zealand had joined forces to develop a sector strategy.
He said a similar move had successfully focused the horticulture industry on the goal of becoming a $10 billion industry by 2020.
