Deer pioneers exploiting export potential of possums

By Glenys Christian

Over the gate

Four men who oversaw the transformation of the deer industry into a $170 million export earner are at it again.

This time they have their eyes on the possum, which they say no longer needs to be a pest.

Sir Peter Elworthy, the first president of the Deer Farmers Association, turned his mind to the subject four years ago.

"I was plagued by possums around the house and in the garden, as so many people are," he said.

During his time as the chairman of the Queen Elizabeth II Trust he was made acutely aware of the damage the four-legged fiends were doing to native bush, as well as transmitting bovine tuberculosis among cattle herds.

The answer came when he visited a Wanganui factory, run by Colin Cox, that was removing fur from possum pelts and selling it to a manufacturer, who then turned it into a limited range of clothing items.

The opportunity was there to build up intellectual property and put a brand on the fibre, whose unique, air-trapping structure makes it light, soft and warm.

Wild Peter Products was set up and the brand name Kapua, meaning cloud, registered.

Wild Peter's board of directors includes two former chief executives of the Game Industry Board, Dr Richard Janes and Chris Bryan, as well as Peter Farley, who combines deer, forestry and Treasury experience.

Now the fur of almost 250,000 possums a year is being taken into Cox Brothers' Wanganui plant, which has become a fully owned subsidiary.

Trappers supplying the fibre receive $30 to $40 a kg - the yield from around 15 animals that would otherwise be abandoned in the bush.

Sir Peter said this was an exact parallel to the deer industry. When cullers were paid by the Government to reduce numbers in the 1960s, their meat had no commercial value.

But 30 years on, numbers are controlled, the commercial rewards are significant and the story could be exactly the same with possums.

"It is potentially a winner," Sir Peter said.

Kapua, pitched in the same price range as merino wool and cashmere at up to $100 a kg, now features on the tags of high-priced knitted and woven garments selling in Japan and Italy.

Meanwhile, the coming meat processing season is shaping as an interesting one in the North Island.

Richmond has readied itself for combat over its proposed merger with Waitotara Meats, which some farmers believe is a way of diluting the unwelcome shareholding that the South Island company, the Primary Producers Cooperative Society (PPCS), has taken in Richmond and is looking to enlarge.

Affco - determined to remain number one, as its new branding strategy promises - has also fired an aggressive warning shot.

There will be loyalty bonuses for suppliers from last year as well as two- monthly updates on the processing situation, with extra payments if animals are sent in the week nominated.

Farmers' twin requirements of strong competition for their stock and ample rewards for quality may at last be met.

* Glenys Christian can be contacted on e-mail at glenys@farmindex.co.nz