South African wattle extractors regroup
Prompted by a change in legislature,
As its new name suggests, the Mimosa Central Co-operative is now a central co-operative, as opposed to its previous function as a statutory body. In its new role, it takes on all the sales and marketing functions (including shipping and control of international agents) of the two extract producing co-ops, NTE and
Dr. Neville Slabbert, general manager of Mimosa, believes this will present a better image to the market and "iron out some historical problems, such as multiple agents selling our products under different banners. Now everything will be under one banner."
The changes are also geared to helping the industry take advantage of the burgeoning demand for 'natural' products. Whilst conceding that the extractors’ traditional markets of Europe and South America was in decline due to tannery closures, Slabbert was cautiously optimistic for the future.
He considers that the lost ground could be regained through the nurturing of markets in the developing world - possibly through greater penetration of the automotive leather market, where there was growing demand for eco-friendly leathers.
