The meat industry has rejected setting up an on-line trading platform for meat commodities along the lines of Fonterra's dairy auction system.
The idea was raised as a recommendation in the red meat sector strategy launched two years ago, to find ways of lifting the industry's performance and profitability.
A progress report shows that the industry has gained some ground in working towards the strategy goals.
But the Meat Industry Association and Beef + Lamb New Zealand decided not to follow up the idea of setting up an on-line auction system like Fonterra's global dairy trade.
Meat Industry Association chairman Bill Falconer says meat companies decided it wouldn't work for them and the issues of scale and diversity put people off.
He says it's easy with a single commodity such as whole milk powder.
"But when you get down to a range of not only just animals but different cuts and different qualities within those cuts, it became difficult to see an on-line structure which would address the diversity of a product which had to be marketed and also capture the value inter-relationship between them."
