SUPPLY CHAIN DELIVERING VALUE THE SPIN ON SKIN Lamb producers who “In terms of quality, Australia have their sights set on produces a superior product, so our meeting carcase quality market should remain secure.” and weight targets can On-farm influence also pick up value by adjusting Simon Matters, who manages management strategies to Thomas Foods International’s skin, produce premium skins. hide and wool division, said around Co-products such as skin, wool and 60% of lambs processed by the hide can be an overlooked sector company will make the cut for the of the red meat industry, but they premium skin market. contribute to Australia’s reputation He said, with prices usually as a supplier of quality products dropping by $2–$3 between each into export markets. of the three grades, it is worthwhile According to the latest MLA markets for producers to ensure animals are report, lamb skins are averaging presented in the best condition. 900c/skin. Prices increased in “The ideal lamb skin will have at January after staying at around least half an inch (1.2cm) of fine, 700–750c/skin since June 2017. dense wool – this is crucial for the Last year, Australia exported more premium market, as these skins will than $377 million worth of raw be used for high quality garments sheep and lamb skins, with 92% and underlays.” going to China. Simon said producers he speaks to are interested in how they can Dennis King, executive officer of theachieve more value for their skins. Australian Hide, Skin and Leather Exporters Association, said the skin“Best practice management on farm trade can be influenced by social for fine wool tends to flow through andpolitical factors to skin value as customers pay . a premium for finer microns and “The fashion industry is particularly unmarked hides,” he said. susceptible to influence from activist groups and, in recent years, we’ve “For example, grass seen big global brands move away seeds used to be a big from using leather products in favour of synthetic alternatives,” he said. issue, but generally “While this has had an effect on Australian producers demand for hide, the market for are doing a good job at lamb skins remains strong.” He said the pending elimination eliminating grass seeds of a 7% tariff on sheep skins – pasture management by 1 January 2019 under the has been a godsend to China–Australia Free Trade the skin industry. Agreement is also not expected to have a significant impact. “We also see fewer black points. “Australia and New Zealand are the Black wool cannot be dyed out, main producers of sheep skins, but producers are reducing this so the volume of product cannot problem with genetic selection be sourced from other countries,” to produce more consistently Dennis said. lighter skins.” 4400