Woolgrowers told to expect more fraying

Woolgrowers can expect continuing strife in their industry restructuring over the next few months, says wool sector powerbroker Sir Brian Lochore.

The former All Black captain chairs Romney New Zealand, which in October began pulling together groups of farmers looking to jointly market strong wools.

But Sir Brian has signalled that because strong-wool growers made up the greater part of the industry, in terms of sheep ownership and wool production, they should be seen as owning most Wool Board assets. This means "potential issues" may arise over the coming months.

Although Sir Brian did not detail those issues, growers have indicated that they include assessment of the economic viability of the proposed new strong-wool company, preserving farmer-owned assets such as intellectual property and research, the size of an industry-good levy, distributing the Wool Board's $116 million in reserves and disestablishing the Wool Board.

Romney New Zealand was set up by Romney sheep breeders just before the $3 million McKinsey report on industry restructuring was released last year. It attracted backing from some other-breed societies and big woolgrowers such as Landcorp and the Federation of Maori Authorities.

Now those groups have drawn in wider representation from woolgrowers to support their stance that there should be only one quality strong-wool company going forward.

"Strong-wool growers need a collective voice - at the moment it's very fragmented," Sir Brian said. "Merino and mid-micron growers have formal structures to represent their interests but we have no such voice."

He said the group would continue to work closely with the Strong Wools New Zealand taskforce as it developed the business.

But the concept of a single strong-wools company - which would give farmers greater bargaining power with industry middle agents such as exporters and brokers, as well as critical mass in areas such as research - has been criticised by wool exporters.

A Council of Wool Exporters newsletter alleged the steam was going out of the Strong Wools proposal, and that industry taskforce chairman Richard Janes had failed to meet a Christmas deadline to deliver an outline of the marketing body's structure and functions.

The exporters said they believed the single-marketer idea was opposed by potential customers.

But Mr Janes said the council was wrong in its claims. He had reported on the commercial viability of the proposed company to the industry's implementation project team, led by Fletcher Challenge chief executive Mike Andrews, and it was now up to that team or the Wool Board to release any details from his report.

Mr Janes said claims that customers were not keen on the idea were wrong, and part of a campaign against the strong-wools company.

The new Strong Wools New Zealand committee comprises a broad mix of grower and breed groups and area delegates. They are: Sir Brian Lochore (Romney NZ, Masterton), Edwyn Kight (East Coast Wools, Dannevirke), Mavis Mullins (Federation of Maori Authorities, Dannevirke), Rick Cameron (Strong Wool South, Milton), Murray Turner (area delegate, Otautau), Donald Cooper (area delegate, Takapau), John Ayres (Perendale, Wyndham) and David Giddings (Romney NZ, Fairlie).

- NZPA