Producers hoping for greater wool demand

THE last couple of weeks have seen a recent increase in lamb prices which will be welcomed by many but further stories in the press on mislabelling of meat products must still be a cause for concern.

The results of a recent survey publicised on the national news has shown a large reduction in the number of consumers purchasing ready-made meals including a switch to vegetarian products.

I hope, however, that any reduction in demand will be at the very least matched by the national retailers increasing demand for British meat.

Looking ahead to the summer, volatility in wool prices means that income from this year's wool crop will be difficult to predict.

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It already seems that the returns that will be achieved in 2013 will be lower than original predictions but recent sales by the British Wool Marketing Board have seen increasing clearance rates along with a gradual increase in the price achieved.

While wool is now treated as a by-product of lamb production, it is an amazing product and hopefully the long-term outlook will see increasing global demand.

Some of the campaigns spearheaded from the UK have shown what use the product can be put to and the Campaign for Wool Facebook page regularly updates those interested in wool on its uses particularly in fashion.

A number of high profile events have also highlighted the role of wool in a modern society.

Interests

With the role of the British Wool Marketing Board sometimes being questioned (although I am a supporter) it might be interesting to note that New Zealand has no national organisation that sells or represents the interests of their wool crop.

This followed a regular referendum that occurs in the NZ farming sector where farmers are asked to vote for whether a levy board should represents their interest.

The last round of voting approximately four years ago saw the remit given for meat only, leaving wool with no national organisation.

Where previously the interests of the red meat and wool sectors were represented by 'Meat and Wool NZ' this was replaced by the red meat only organisation 'Beef + Lamb NZ'.

It will be interesting to see whether this is repeated in the next round of voting or whether wool will be bought back into the fold.

This could be of relevance to the price achieved for wool in Wales with a more co-ordinated international approach to sales potentially leading to increased prices being received by all producers.

Before thinking too far ahead I am sure many feel that the priority is to get through the next couple of weeks until spring finally arrives.

It has been a long and difficult winter with flooding and more recently ice and snow. I hope that the weather conditions soon improve and the remainder of the lambing season goes well and a timely turnout achieved for those with cattle.