KEY POINTS:
Soaring demand for clothing made from blends of fine wool and possum fibre has driven up the price paid for possum fur to more than $100 a kilogram, says a major processor.
"We take the lion's share of the fibre which comes in, and we're trying to grow the pool available," said Wool Yarns marketing manager Robert Anderson, of Lower Hutt.
Wool Yarns is the leading Australian manufacturer of yarns containing possum fibre, which has microscopic airpockets that make it about 7 per cent better than wool in its ability to conserve body heat.
Anderson said prices paid for possum fibre had jumped about 15 per cent and fur-buying companies such as Basically Bush had been paying $105 a kilo.
"The intake [of fur] has increased substantially. The price rise has been enough for some people collecting fibre part-time to make it a full-time job."
The possum fur industry reached its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, but went into decline from the time of the 1987 recession. Then research in the early 1990s showed that the hollow fibres of possum fur could be blended with merino wool to form a light, stable and strong yarn with superior heat retention and prices for suitable possum fur doubled to $80 a kilo over the five years to 2005.
"It's lighter, warmer and softer than anything else available," said Anderson. "It's a premium luxury product."
Now the clothing industry based on possum/wool blends was worth more than $100 million and looked set to double in value.
"That's one of the reasons we needed to accelerate the supply of possum fibre."
He said that because only limited numbers of possums could be killed in Tasmania, New Zealand had the industry to itself.
Manufacturers such as Snowy Peak in Canterbury, Manawatu Knitting Mills' Native World line, and the Knitting Establishment's Warkworth-based brand Koru had established export markets which they were now building up.
- NZPA
