Wool industry must adapt

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 1, Issue 20, 18 October 1983, Page 11

Wool industry must adapt

"If the Russians want their sheep shorn upside down, we'll do it," Wrightson NMA manager, Allan Sturzaker told the farmers gathered at the wool Field Day at Feter McDonnell's, Ngamokai Road farm near Karioi last Wednesday. Mr Sturzaker talked to the group on current international wool marketing trends, and stressed the nged for the industry to adapt to change. "We're now dealing with markets with political philosophies we don't always agree with, but we must overlook this if we are to compete internationally. Our markets have moved from western to eastern Europe, and into China and the Middle East." He said five years ago China had bought 5000 bales of New Zealand wool, while last year they bought 230,00. The Iranian market expanded at a similar "New Zealand is now exporting wool to 51 different countries, and is the largest exporter of crossbred wool in the world." He warned there would always be 'hiccups' in the trading pattern. An example of this was Russia's temporary withdrawal as a trading partner when New Zealand sprang to. Britain's

aid during the Falklands crisis. "The Chinese are good people to do business with, but they set difficult standards which must be met. The world is not prepared to accept second best, and we've got to look after our markets." He said the New Zealand wool industry had proven its ability to shift with the times by adopting the 'sale by sample' method of selling. "It has enabled us to handle the large volume of saies well. We had to do something or the industry would have been in chaos — the way the meat industry has gone. We've been remarkably adaptable." When asked by farmers for a forecast of this year's market, Mr Sturzaker said it was hard to make predicitions at this stage. "China looks like it's going to buy, but we don't know what's happening in South America or other places. The SMF (supplementary minimum price) is at it's lowest ever, and thats a good sign." He added that one of the worst features about wool from a marketing point of view is its durability. "It lasts such a long time. 1've had this jacket for 12 vears now."

John

Saker