From unmatched classing standards to the development of traceability and the establishment of thousands of communal wool farmers – Dan Kriek, chief executive officer of the National Wool Growers Association, reflects on the remarkable achievements of this industry over the past 100 years.
From a struggling industry that decided 100 years ago to band together against the exploitation of informal wool and ram traders, to South Africa today being the world’s largest producer of certified sustainably produced wool, as well as the second-largest producer of Merino wool. All of this under the proud banner of the National Wool Growers Association (NWGA), which has jealously guarded the interests of wool farmers for the past century.
“Today, the South African wool industry meets the very highest standards of environmental, animal welfare and social responsibility,” explains a proud Dan Kriek, chief executive officer of the NWGA and himself a wool farmer, on the eve of the respected producer organisation’s centenary congress, which takes place on 3 June in Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape.
“What truly sets our industry apart is our world-class wool classing standards. These standards were not only initially developed by the NWGA but have also been maintained and developed over the years. Today, South Africa’s wool clip is regarded as the best-classed clip in the world, consistently providing buyers with reliably sorted and accurately labelled wool. This ensures our wool is held in extremely high regard by luxury textile manufacturers in Italy, Japan and China.”
But it is not only the quality of South African wool that gives the industry an international competitive advantage, explains Dan, it is also how the industry has structured itself.
“We are very fortunate in South Africa to have Cape Wools South Africa, under the exceptionally capable leadership of Deon Saayman, where everyone is accommodated – from producers belonging to the NWGA to wool buyers, brokers and processors. This is an absolutely unique structure in the world. Not even Australia has this, who are themselves fragmented in the way they operate. This structure gives us an incredible international competitive advantage.”
In conversation with our sister publication Landbouweekblad’s Gerrit Bezuidenhout, Dan told us how the South African wool industry has established itself over the past 100 years as one of the world’s leading agricultural industries.
Also read:
Cape Wools standard meets Four Paws criteria for animal welfare needs
Official partnership to empower smallholder woolgrowers
Communal wool growers measure progress through flock competition
Learn how to class wool like an expert
Poor baling and hygiene are cutting your profits: Essential advice for wool growers
Tips for ensuring a clean wool clip
