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Wool industry on cup warpath

Rural News
Wool industry on cup warpath

Marketing opportunities like the rugby world cup in New Zealand should be grasped with both hands by our agricultural products.

Clothing associated with this event should be made of wool or at the very least a wool blend so it's qualities can be promoted world wide.

The exposure of such an event releases a huge amount of free advertising that our small agricultural industries could not afford and must be taken advantage of.

The beleaguered wool industry is lobbying government and the New Zealand Rugby Union to have All Black supporters' gear made of wool rather than man-made fibres. Official All Blacks' merchandise such as beanies and scarves, produced for the NZRU under licence by Adidas, are made of synthetics. With the Rugby World Cup approaching, Federated Farmers, wool exporters and wool clothing manufacturers have launched a campaign to get at least some of the merchandise made from natural, homegrown fibre reports The NZ Herald.

This week, the group wrote to NZRU chief executive Steve Tew, Prime Minister John Key and Agriculture Minister David Carter, offering to make additional woollen All Blacks gear. Federated Farmers meat and fibre chairman Bruce Wills said the wool industry had been through hard times and simple moves such as this made a difference. "We're known for our wool and rugby and we are not matching up the two."

 Wayne Russell, general manager of the Kiwi Sock Company in Norsewood, said there was plenty of capacity in the apparel industry to manufacture wool merchandise. The NZRU has argued that wool items would be too costly. Russell said the products would be more expensive than those made out of synthetics but he believed some fans would pay extra. "If you've come to see the Rugby World Cup from Europe I think you'd be looking for some quality souvenirs if you've spent all that money."

The campaign is backed by sheep farmer and former All Black Richard Loe, who said the Government had poured a lot of money into the Rugby World Cup and initiatives to help the primary industries, such as the Wool Taskforce set up by Carter. "Yet no one's thought of bringing the two together for mutual benefit," he said.

 

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7 Comments

Im always struck by the freebie beanie hats given out by the rural serviceing firms as gifts that turn us cockies into walking billboards. They never seem to spot the irony that they're all  100% acrylic! If we cant even support our own product how should we expect others too. I note elsewhere on the site even  the erstwhile Andrewj importing his own gore tex number. Tut tut!

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Ive given up on wool, happened a few years back,like waiting for Jesus he may come but when and how long have I got. Enjoyed you comment on SFF,interesting how we in the north view it so differently to you lot on the mainland. Brazil is coming whether we like it or not, I see Eastern Europe and South America as a major headache for little old NZ. 

 I see turmoil in our markets as we try and get our heads around the effects of Globalisation and how Asia responds to falling demand from the west. I try and buy NZ made, I always buy Mckinley shoes and my farm boots from down Dunedin way, we dont get much choice these days but I do my best. I always wear wollen singlets and give them as gifts to friends in the North hemisphere.  However if its not made here, I see it as my duty to get it as cheap as I can. Where do you buy your roundup,Monsanto?

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This just sounds like more left wing bias.

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Perhaps if Jesus did come back he might find it in himself to wear icebreaker? Prince Charles and Jesus...... now that would be a coup for the wool industry!

Im abit of a stickler for buying my inputs through the likes of CRT(a co op for you townies) which is very strong down here, groceries through foodstuffs etc etc drives the wife mad but I have abit of a nationalistic streak. Interesting discussion you introduced on the other thread and certainly shows how hard it will be for traditional retailing going forward.

You NI cockies are all the trouble with your Sunday night auctions that we hear all about. Very tribal down here which of course is why what seems to be a no brainer to any outside observer is not so straight forward.

I agree that there is some big changes on the way.Lamb is the highest selling red meat and JBS  or perhaps the likes of Conagra or Tyson foods might fancy abit of the lamb trade and there is only two shows in town, us and Aussie. They could buy us with their lunch money.As JBS are already in Aussie I think we are closest to their radar. It would be to our advantage initially but long term we would be squeezed as they looked to get their raw material as cheaply as possible once they have blown the opposition away.

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In the USA/Canada woman were buying NZ lamb, when i asked why, it was because they believed it had no hormones added. No one trusts USA Ag. Every one thinks that their food is pumped full of shit and it probably is. Did you read the article on the huge egg recall from a farm in Iowa. Would you believe they had to recall 500million eggs,even Im finding that a bit hard to believe. Love to see the figures for the increase in roundup sales in the last 10 years. Trouble is we are in the middle of a commodity boom with record prices and yet none of the money is sticking to the bank statement, thats why I think its time we acknowledged that we've had a cost plus mentality for too long and costs need to fall, if we have to compete with the likes of Brazil by bloody miles.

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I was wrong about the eggs 550,000,000 eggs recalled from 2 farms.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/2630422,CST-NWS-eggs24.article

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At least its eggs this time and not e coli in the beef.

I read Brazil can put an extra 400 million acres under the plough without felling a tree which is abit scary although they seem to have alot of disese issues, foot and mouth and the like. I also read that prime farmland over there sells for $US28,000/ha with the likes of Buffet and Soros buying big so perhaps their cost of production is riseing inline with ours.We cant beat them on volume we have to do it on quality and food safety.

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