Piggy-backing on NZ pork 

The New Zealand Pork Board claims foreign imports are flooding our market, partly because they're produced cheaply through the use of growth hormones.

Local pig farmers have a voluntary ban on using the hormones but say they're being squeezed by the imports.

And most consumers can't tell the difference because there's no country of origin labels on the imported meat.

"Forty percent of our total consumption now is imported," says Chris Trengrove from the pork board.

On average New Zealanders eat about 21 kilograms of the meat each year.

Last year almost 45% of pork imports were from Australia, 27% from Canada, 18% from America, 9% from Sweden and the rest from China, Thailand and others.

The Australian Pork Board estimates up to a quarter of its pig farmers use a synthetic growth hormone called porcine somatotropin or PST which is injected, usually in the pig's neck, in the last month of its life to accelerate the animal's growth while decreasing the amount of feed it needs.

Trengrove says this gives them a 20% growth advantage over the New Zealand pig. "It is more meat to sell at a lesser cost."

PST is registered for use in New Zealand but local pork farmers have resolved not to use it.

"They felt the New Zealand consumer would not tolerate the use of PST or animal growth hormones," says Trengrove.

However some meat experts say there is nothing to fear from the use of PST which replicates a hormone that occurs naturally in pigs.

Food technology lecturer Owen Young says New Zealanders seem to be consumed by concern about chemicals in their diet.

"It is just chemohobia - a fear of something with a big name," says Professor Young.

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority shares a similar view and says that country of origin labels are actually a straight marketing issue.

"It is not up to us to run their commercial operation for them, all we are involved with safety," Andrew McKenzie says.

The pork board concedes that in the first three months of this year the price local farmers got for their animals dropped about 10%  - forced down by cheaper imported pork.

Angus Davidson says the pork board is frustrated that "freeloaders such as Australia are coming in underneath and stealing our market place".

And Green Party MP Sue Kedgley has drafted a bill that would force country of origin labelling. She says it simply comes down to the public's right to know exactly what they're buying.