Eastern Cape Business 2017 edition

OVERVIEW
The dorper breed (which are mainly used for meat production)
is found in the dry Karoo, while the higher-lying areas are more
conducive to the wool-producing sheep.
South Africa produces about 50 000 tons of wool annually. In
2014/15, the value of wool sold at auctions reached R3.5-billion; in
2015/16 it was R3.7-billion, of which R815-million was generated in
the Eastern Cape.
The National Woolgrowers Association (NWGA) has helped
24 000 Eastern Cape communal wool farmers get organised into
1 224 wool growers associations. Now they have access to
sheds with good equipment for shearing and classification.
(www.heatherdugmore.co.za)
One of the support programmes aims to improve the genetic
stock. This is funded by the national Department of Rural
Development and Land Reform and involves communal farmers
swopping an inferior ram for a good ram. So far, 42 000 good merino
rams have been added to the communal flocks.
Dugmore’s report highlights the achievements of a group of
communal farmers from the Sterkspruit district, near the Lesotho
border. The 66 farmers of the Upper Telle shearing shed were the
2015/16 season NWGA Grand Champions. Their 5 600 sheep produced
an average of R92.03/kg against the national average for
commercial wool farmers of R77.40/kg. The average for communal
wool farmers is R52.35.
The South African Mohair Growers Association is based in the
heart of Angora goat country at Jansenville while the industry association,
Mohair South Africa, has recently built smart new headquarters
in Port Elizabeth, encompassing a shop and conference
facilities. South Africa produces about half of the world’s mohair.
Processing of mohair takes place in Uitenhage, Port Elizabeth
and Berlin outside East London. The mohair value chain includes
brokers, buyers, processors,
spinners, manufacturers and
retailers. The Stucken group
controls Mohair Spinners South
Africa, Hinterveld (a mill) and
a processing company called
Gubb & Inggs in Uitenhage.
Several agricultural companies
have mohair divisions:
OVK (based in Ladybrand) has
a 34% shareholding the Cape
Mohair Wool (CMW), a mohair
brokerage; BKB (Port Elizabeth
headquarters) has a mohair division
that includes auctions and
brokering.
Other livestock
Livestock farming is the largest
agricultural sub-sector in South
Africa. The Eastern Cape holds
21% of the country’s cattle (about
3.2-million), 28% of its sheep
(seven-million) and 46% of its
goats, making it the largest livestock
province by a large margin.
The rich natural grasslands
of the Eastern Cape have the
potential to produce high-value
organic meat, a product that is
proving increasingly popular in
health-conscious international
markets. The Eastern Cape can
offer a range that stretches from
Karoo lamb to CAB-certified freerange
beef. These niche meat
products are leaner, healthier and
often tastier than mass-produced
alternatives. High-value meat
cuts such as these will increase
the value of exports from the
Eastern Cape. The Border region
is very strong in beef production.
Stats confirm that South
Africa has a large meat-eating
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