More wool needed for a brighter future – WNZ

The trademarked scouring process Glacier XT will be a more volume-focused business, he says.

“That will create lot more demand. It is creating a wool that is a lot whiter and brighter and is the sort innovation and technology we need to invest in to add value to the wool.

“We have had a lot of interest in the market for it because the brightness is the key aspect that the industry hadn’t been able to acquire until this technology became available.”

If there was a quick fix for the wool industry it would have been done, he says. Many initiatives have been tried, unsuccessfully.

“Our strategy is very long term: we’ve been at it four and a half years. I think it will take another five years to gain any real traction and influence a significant volume of the NZ wool clip.”

But to make a difference requires building relationships right out to the consumer, spending money and adopting new technology, he says.

“Trading wool as a commodity will never change the game. We have learned from 150 years of wool trading that [commodity trading] has never created real value back to the farmgate.

“But from a farming point of view – sheep and beef -- we have been getting $6/kg for beef and $6 for lamb; that is helping but I would like to see $6/kg for wool on a sustainable basis.

“That would keep growers on their wool production.”