28 Oct 2010

New wool co-op aims to raise $65m

10:09 am on 28 October 2010

A new wool marketing co-operative has begun a series of road-shows aimed at persuading sheep farmers to invest at least $65 million and commit more than half the country's strong wool clip to the venture.

Wool Partners Co-operative Limited is proposing to replace the existing Wool Partners International joint venture company with a totally farmer-owned enterprise.

The co-operative's chair, Jeff Grant, told Federated Farmers Meat and Fibre Council this week that getting 60% of the strong wool supply would bring about a dramatic change in the way the fragmented wool market operates.

But he concedes that will be a challenge in an industry which is capital thin, and where the lack of investment money in the sector has been a fundamental problem.