ICSA plans to chart way forward for wool in Ireland

22 Sep '20

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) recently held discussions with leading figures in the country’s wool industry to chart a way forward for the wool sector with a specific focus on increasing the potential of the wool industry and increasing the profit of sheep farmers. The group discussed the feasibility of a scouring plant for wool in Ireland.

Currently wool is exported to the United Kingdom for scouring—the process of preparing and washing a batch of raw sheep's wool to remove impurities like grease, dirt and suin, and that may become more problematic in the context of Brexit, ICSA said in a press release.

“Over 5 million kg of wool are produced in this country annually and we must endeavour to put it all to good use. We are not satisfied that under current EU [European Union] guidelines, wool is classified as a waste product and believe that this must change. Going forward, wool must be considered an important commodity that can generate jobs in the green economy and also be of financial benefit to sheep farmers,” ICSA organics chair Fergal Byrne said.

“We do not want to see a repeat of scenes earlier this year when farmers had no choice but to dump wool when we know there is a variety of different uses that it can be put to,” he added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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