Meat and Wool New Zealand has promised a joint marketing programme in a bid to to quell warring factions in the wool industry which provoked an outburst of accusations and animosity this week.
Hopes of uniting the beleaguered wool industry disappeared when the two main broker and marketing companies, Elders Primary Wool and Wool Partners International (WPI), and sheep breeding group Romney New Zealand, made accusations of ineffective branding and favourable treatment by Meat and Wool New Zealand.
The dispute centres on claims of the effectiveness of Elder's Just Shorn brand and WPI's Levene and Wools of New Zealand brands, while Romney New Zealand was angry that WPI appeared to be getting favourable treatment through $5 million in marketing funds promised by Meat and Wool.
An angry Meat and Wool chairman, Mike Petersen, described the spat as "just absurd," and warned if it continued, the bulk of the $5 million earmarked for marketing would be withdrawn.
He said the grower organisation was not favouring one company over another and marketing funds would initially be given to Wools of New Zealand for six months and then be contestable for the next 18 months.
Farmers will vote in two weeks on whether to renew a commodity levy, and should that succeed and Elders and WPI call a truce and start working collaboratively, Mr Petersen promised further assistance including funding assistance for a joint marketing effort.
But it came with a catch.
"We have no interest supporting competing brands in the same market.
"If there is not a more collaborative marketing effort, they could find Meat and Wool would not allocate marketing money for the 18 months of contestable funding."
Resurrecting the wool industry had four principles: unifying growers, consolidating the clip for marketing, targeted marketing and promotion, and greater collaboration of the New Zealand industry.
"They are the principles we are living by and the way the industry is behaving at the moment, it wouldn't pass those tests."
Romney New Zealand chairman Hugh Taylor was opposed to grower funds being spent on promotion, saying it had not worked in the past.
He was also critical of marketing money going to WPI, saying Elders had made rapid progress in developing markets in the United States, which WPI was copying.
Elders was also going to promote Romney and Perendale branded wool, while Mr Taylor said WPI was "treating wool like milk".
