Wool industry urged to diversify export markets

South Africa, the world’s fifth-largest producer of apparel wool. Picture: AVUSA

Wool is ranked the sixth-largest exportable commodity in SA’s agricultural sector. In 2018, wool accounted for 4% of SA’s agricultural exports of $10.6bn. “The other countries that we think SA should explore for the possibility of growing its market share, as a form of diversification, would be India, Italy, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Egypt, Thailand, Bulgaria, and Japan,” said Wandile Sihlobo, the head of agribusiness research at Agbiz.

Sihlobo said that as SA was the second-leading supplier of wool to China in the past two years, the country could still be among the competitive wool suppliers in other markets. “Perhaps, in the long run, the diversification of the export market should be one of the industry’s strategic goals,” Sihlobo said.On Wednesday, department of agriculture spokesperson Khaye Nkwanyana suggested that SA will be able to regain all its markets as soon as the foot-and-mouth disease has been contained.

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WANDILE SIHLOBO: It’s a good time for SA to diversify wool export marketFurther delays from China are expected after the country suspended imports due to a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak earlier in 2019
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