Andre Jooste, Senior Manager of the National Agricultural Marketing Council’s Market and Economic Research Centre (MERC) delivered a report to the NWGA congress on research done into the promotion of the SA wool clip. He advised a predominant focus on international promotion, funded – at this stage – by wool growers.
“The bulk of promotion funding should go to the international market while the majority of funding will have to come from producers for at least the short term,” Jooste explained. He said that there was space for product awareness programmes at different levels locally and internationally, and explained that such programmes should involve the collaboration of different interest groups in the industry and should focus on the attributes of wool and the high-income consumer. He suggested starting at the top of the chain and preferably targeting brands. As for the generic promotion of wool, he advised collaboration with the global wool industry.
At a generic promotional level, he said SA needs to join forces internationally as generic promotion by SA alone would not shift demand. He added that a focus on the retailer end of the chain – without alienating the first and second lines of users of wool – was important.
“Furthermore, the building of relations in new markets would be critical, specifically in the Far East and China,” he said.
