Federated Farmers Meat And Wool Chair Toby Williams Says Consolidation Is A Must If New Zealand’s Strong-Wool Industry Is To Thrive Again

Federated Farmers Meat and Wool chair Toby Williams says consolidation is a must if New Zealand’s strong-wool industry is to thrive again. He says there are too many groups or silos and rather than consolidation into one voice and nothing is improving returns to the farmer. He suggests contracts as low as $4 a kilogram could build farmer confidence meaning growers get a guaranteed price and the buyer and the end user get guaranteed quality of product. Toby Williams says Wools of NZ saw $9 million invested in funds equity which has now turned into $2m meaning a $7m lost less than a year ago. Toby Williams says it is 10 years since he last made money off wool with a cost of $40,000 to shear his sheep every six months so that’s $80,000 for 6000 sheep. He says the return this year on the last shear was $30,000 which means a 25% loss.