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Deon Saayman, General Manager of Cape Wools SA, shares that the South African wool industry produces about 45 million kilograms of wool annually, and of that, 80% is exported to China – making it the biggest trading partner with South Africa when it comes to wool.

With that, the South African wool clip generates some R6 billion of export revenue annually. 

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Wool is produced by around 40 000 communal and 8 000 commercial farmers in South Africa, with communal farmers, in particular, relying on the Chinese market for the sale of their wool, says Saayman.

“Wool on the water at this point in time en route to China, amounts to R300 million, which will basically end up in China not being released by Chinese customs.

“They’ve indicated that there will be additional measures and decontamination periods that they will apply.

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“Then we have R700 million of wool that has already been sold on auction and paid for by the South African buyers that cannot be shipped at this point in time,” explains Saayman.

He says they are engaging with China as well as the relevant officials within the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development in a bid to try and get the Chinese government to lift the ban on wool imports from South Africa, as the local wool industry do not see any ground for wool to be included in such a ban.

Saayman is not anticipating other countries to follow China’s lead to ban any cloven-hoofed animal products from South Africa. “We export under very strict conditions from South Africa and we’re very proud of the traceability and the systems we have in place.”

Wool Auctions have in the meantime been postponed until further notice, pending more clarity from the Chinese authorities on the duration and exact nature of the ban introduced in their announcement.

OFM News