Wool sector merger but will it deliver higher prices?

How will a major merger in the wool sector help prices and farmers out of the doldrums? Wools of New Zealand and Primary Wool Co-Operative, which have about 700 and 14-hundred grower shareholders respectively, have agreed to merge, and shareholders gave the deal the green light earlier this week. Strong wool prices have been depressed for many years now, currently selling for about $2 a kilogram, which is less than the cost of shearing for most farmers.

There's also concern from many in the sector about the amount of pastoral land being converted to forestry. Susie Ferguson discusses the rationale for the merger and prospects for wool growers with Wools of NZ chairman James Parsons and Richard Young, chairman of Primary Wool Cooperative.