Pyne Gould loyal to NZ merino woolgrowers

Pyne Gould Guinness remains loyal to NZ merino woolgrowers

Pyne Gould Guinness has confirmed its loyalty to its New Zealand clients and will continue to market merino wool through the Christchurch wool auction system.

In contrast with the New Zealand Merino Company, who has decided to move its auctions to Melbourne, PGG believes New Zealand still offers many advantages.

Hugh Martyn, Chief Executive of Pyne Gould Guinness, said that a number of factors have been taken into account in reaching this decision, especially the views of merino growers.

³We have consulted with growers, exporters and other industry participants both in New Zealand and Australia and can see no reason to suggest that a shift to selling wool in Australia is in the best interests of New Zealand merino woolgrowers or the New Zealand wool industry.

³In fact, our conclusions are quite the opposite. The ramifications to merino wool growers and the overall New Zealand wool industry could be severely detrimental,² he said.

PGG, which handled approximately half of the merino wool sold at auction this season, believes the buying strength of the New Zealand auction bench and the consequent merino prices obtained justifies the decision to remain in this country.

They also believe that the absence of Chinese buyers has little to do with the size of the wool clip and more to do with the specifications of the wool they require. Chinese buyers are not generally purchasers of New Zealand merino wool.

³We have not seen any evidence that would indicate better prices will be obtained in Australia. Independent data obtained from AWEX in Australia and independent quotes from Meat and Wool Innovation shows that in the majority of cases the opposite is true.

³For the New Zealand merino selling season (August ­ February), New Zealand prices were consistently up to five per cent better than those achieved in Australia for best to good top making wools of all microns,² he said.

Another major concern for PGG is that many growers over several generations have built their own individual brand identities. The value of these would not be recognised and could be lost altogether if their wool was auctioned in Australia. It must be remembered that over two million bales of merino wool are auctioned in Australia every year compared with approximately 45,000 bales in New Zealand.

³Currently many growers attend auction sales and view their wool on display. This enables them to critically evaluate the preparation and presentation of their wool compared with other clips, to have direct contact with their broker and to meet the exporters purchasing their wool. These important opportunities would be lost.

³The traditions of our company have always been based around doing our absolute best for our clients ­ nothing has changed in that respect,² Hugh Martyn said.

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