IMPACT OF EXPORTING DEPENDENCE ON LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMS, INDUSTRY STRUCTURE, AND RESEARCH

From 84 to 93% of New Zealand's annual production from livestock is ex ported to over 100 markets throughout the world. This export dependenc e has produced production systems that are low-cost because the Medite rranean maritime climate allows animals to graze outdoors throughout t he year without provision for housing and with minimal requirements fo r cropping, harvesting, and forage storage. These systems exploit the inherent tendencies for ruminants to have annual production cycles tha t can be synchronized to use the seasonal availability of pasture, but this means that processing facilities must handle peak supply for bri ef periods. Processing technology can reduce the impact of peaks in su pply that may not match market demand. The disadvantages of seasonalit y in processing costs are outweighed by lower production costs, as wel l as by the opportunity to manage large numbers of animals per labor u nit. Cooperative structures that are owned by livestock producers are a common feature, especially in New Zealand's dairy industry. This con tinued preference for cooperatives may reflect the need to have a guar anteed processor for a perishable product such as milk, as well as sha ring the risk in an export industry that has scant control over prices received. In addition, management systems for ruminant livestock can only respond slowly to changes in market demand because their producti on cycles last at least 12 mo and only one or two offspring are produc ed in each cycle. Export marketing of livestock products is complicate d by trade barriers and by dumping of subsidized surpluses. Negotiatio ns to eliminate these practices may mean that livestock production sys tems in many countries will have to adopt some principles similar to t hose developed in New Zealand, not because of export dependence but be cause this dependence has created low-cost systems.