Editorial: Wool's Back in the Black
OPINION: Confidence in the wool sector is rebounding as prices hit levels not seen in more than 15 years.
The opportunity for high-quality wool carpets in the world beyond New Zealand and Australia is massive, says Cavalier Corporation chief executive Paul Alston.
Cavalier announced last week it is revamping its export focus to significantly grow its business internationally beyond its traditional markets in NZ and Australia.
“We do sell at the moment into the US, Canada, the UK and Europe and a bit into Asia. It is only a small part of our business but we are looking to have more focus in that area, particularly more products, and we are just making plans about how we do that,” Alston explained to Rural News.
“The world is a big place and... how we target that market is in the early stages of planning. But we will move forward as quickly as we can now the company is on the right trajectory.”
International sales functions beyond the Australian market will be returned to NZ, Alston says. An experienced salesperson who was the company’s general manager international based in Australia is doing the rest of the world role. That function is being returned to NZ.
“Coming back to NZ there is a refocus; we are doing research and will be targeting the rest of the world in what we see is an area of growth.”
They are looking to “potentially change the way we do things”.
Cavalier in February reported first-half net profit of $1 million in the six months ending December 31 following restructuring and plant rationalisation. This followed a loss of $2.1m in the financial year to June 30 2017.
Oamaru-based livestock handling specialist Te Pari has bought Combi Clamp, the New Zealand manufacturer of Combi Clamp manual sheep handlers.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.
A new app designed in New Zealand aims to help sheep, beef and deer farmers capture, analyse and use body condition score data more effectively.
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
For over 50 years Mel Ewers has been supporting the apple sector navigate through compliance and quality assurance issues.
The apple sector is enjoying a bumper harvest season.

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