Bunny prices overcooked warns angora president

Press, 9 January 1987, Page 9

Bunny prices overcooked warns angora president

Newcomers to the angora rabbit industry have been ripped off by paying prices of up to $2OOO for each rabbit, according to Mr Ken Plumstead, president of the New Zealand Commercial Angora Rabbit Breeders* Association. Mr Plumstead is horrified at the large amounts of money people have paid in recent months during the angora rabbit boom.

Many angoras have been imported at prices reaching $2300. The present price of German angoras is $BOO to $l5OO and Mr Plumstead is certain the price will drop further.

He believes a fair mar-

ket price for a good quality commercial angora rabbit is about $l5O, equivalent to its’ productive worth.

Although a handful of top quality rabbits had been imported, most of the importations were of poor quality, said Mr Plumstead, who farms rabbits at Halswell for fibre, fur and meat Buyers from Chile and China had realised several years ago the potential of the German angoras and had secured most of the best quality stock long before New Zealanders started importing from Germany.

“New Zealand entrepreneurs got mostly the

dregs,” said Mr Plumstead.

A lot of money was being made by some entrepreneurs selling progeny from inferior, imported animals, said Mr Plumstead, who has warned people not to rush in and buy the first angoras they see. He sees the angora boom as the third stage in the development of the rabbit farming industry in New Zealand. The first two stages involved meatbreed and Rex fur rabbits which both went through boom cycles. A rapid build up in numbers and indiscriminate breeding which led to a sharp decline in quality contributed to an equally sudden decline in rabbit meat and fur fanning, although the Rex industry is gradually becoming firmly established. “The big problem now is with angoras and the intense interest which has forced prices to ridiculous levels,” said Mr Plumstead.

The bottom line for the angora industry was the world price of fibre — $BO to $lOO a kilogram, which made it marginally economic to farm them. Angoras produce about Ikg of 9-11 micron fibre each year. Mr Plumstead said members of the Commercial Angora Breeders’ Association were receiving $l4O a kilogram for fibre through an added value group system which sees the fibre turned into end products, such as garments and crafts. - The fibre is carded with compatible lambs’ wool, handspun and knitted into quality goods. Although still very much a cottage industry, a commercial “dry run” exercise involving 1500 men’s cardigans made from a mix of 25 per cent angora, 60 per cent lambs’ wool and 10 per cent nylon received an excel-

lent response from an overseas distrubutor who wanted to place an order for 10,000 similar cardigans. An estimated 1000 angora rabbits are in commerial production in New Zealand and Mr Plumstead believes the market could handle the production from 30-50,000 rabbits.

Although annual fibre production per rabbit could exceed Ikg — some animals are reported to produce 1.5 kg to 2kg — the quality of the fibre dropped and it became coarser as production increased, said Mr Plumstead. He feels angoras were already at their optimum size for producing fine, good quality fibre. • A “hands-on” session on angora rabbits will be held on Mr Plumstead’s property, 330 Sparks Road, on the week-end of January 17-18. Topics will include how to evaluate a commercial rabbit, making cages, feeders, and a shearing board, grooming and selection, -mating, fibre harvesting, feeding methods, and marketing. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has suggested angora rabbits are the latest boom in the farming industry. Dr Clive Dalton, of the Ruakura Research Centre, Hamilton, said the angora rabbit has been discovered by New Zealanders looking for ways to diversify their enterprises and investment portfolios. City investment houses were showing a tot of interest and people sensing financial benefits were offering rabbit farmers capital for sharefarming, said Dr Dalton.

Farmers were now starting to "think fibre,” largely because of the success of the cashmere goat industry. The ministry is offering for sale market and technical information packages on the angora industry.