Station wool deal with Japanese

On the back of failed attempts of wool industry reforms, a Mackenzie high country farmer has set up his own wooly supply chain. While many have heralded the NZMerino model as the way forward for all of our wool products this innovative farmer sees a better picture to sell than just Merino wool.

Marketing the region and the special environment the wool is grown in is the added sell used by the Murrays to promote their product. Does agriculture and those that promote its products use this model enough and are there premiums to be earned out of this strategy?

And does the individual animal identification tagging scheme give farmers a better opportunity to market their region with their product? Your views?

After securing a deal with a Japanese buyer that will turn his product into high-end fashion garments for wealthy consumer,  a Mackenzie high country farmer is taking his merino wool straight to the Japanese market reports the Timaru Herald. The agreement will see Maryburn Station owner Martin Murray supplying Japanese spinning company Nankai with 20 tonnes of his best 18.5 micron wool.

Mr Murray said the deal was exciting, particularly if it evolved into a long term supply relationship which would provide him certainty of price in the future. The wool goes straight from Maryburn Station to Canterbury Woolscourers in Timaru and is then exported to Japan where it is processed into yarn for suits and woollen garments."There are not so many people clipping the ticket on the way through," he said.

It will also allow Mr Murray to obtain feedback from Nankai about his wool and help make on-farm decisions that would allow him to refine his product. He will also know exactly where his wool is going, unlike the auction selling system where farmers often do not know where their wool ends up. Having the wool scoured in New Zealand added value to the product because it was sold as clean rather than as greasy, Canterbury Woolscourers general manager Tony Cunningham said.

"The story from the Japanese point of view is that they have the story of a gold medal winning fleece and a gold medal winning sheep. It's very easy for them to sell it on," Mr Smith said. The wool will also be marketed around the iconic imagery of the Mackenzie Basin. Nankai will be able to promote Mr Murray's wool from yarning through to when it is made into fabric. The small amount of wool that the buyer has already received earned a $4 premium above the current market price for merino wool, Mr Smith said.

If successful in extending the contract Mr Murray hopes other Mackenzie high country farmers can also supply wool with it marketed as a Mackenzie wool brand. The wool could be kept separate from merino wool sourced elsewhere and sold to the Japanese as wool exclusively from the Mackenzie Basin.