Meat merger failure a blow for farmers

The failure of the meat merger proposal will be a bitter disappointment for most sheep and beef farmers, says National Party Agriculture spokesman David Carter.

"Regardless of the politics, I think the industry is mostly in agreement that structural change is needed to restore profitability for farmers.

"It's clear to me that sheep and beef farmers are in dire straits and urgent action is needed.

"The success of Fonterra has shown that a mega merger type deal can reinvigorate a depressed primary sector.

"It's a real shame that Labour and Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton have been less than enthusiastic about this proposal, and appear happy to sit on their hands while farmers suffer."

Mr Carter remains hopeful that the reform, needed so badly by the industry can be achieved.

"Now is not the time to apportion blame but rather for all parties to work together to overcome the obstacles identified by this particular plan.

"There appears to be general consensus that the merger concept is the right one, but that fine tuning of its details is needed.

"National will do what it can to support this process.

"The future of this $5 billion industry is at stake."