Strong wool eyes China
China looks set to play a key role in helping the New Zealand wool sector shift away from trading as a commodity supplier.
But he says there could problems if the present situation continues long term. Ebert says the Chinese sharemarket rose quickly earlier in the year and has now fallen back to what it was.
"In many ways it's a healthy correction, but we are watching to see if it has any ramifications and any effect on the wider Asian region. We have noticed that it's starting to affect some of the other Asian equity markets, dragging them down and knocking confidence. But it is still a moot point as to how economically important this is," he told Rural News.
Ebert says the boom on the Chinese sharemarket was caused by officials promoting it, prompting a "collective rush to the door" and people going crazy and investing on the market.
Some of the rules for trading on the Chinese sharemarket are immature by western standards, he says.
Ebert doubts whether this crisis will cause the wheels to fall off the Chinese economy. But he says with China being NZ's major market the turmoil in the market is clearly not good news.
