Eastern Cape
South Africa
Sector
Agriculture & Agri-processing
Bordering the Northern and Western Cape provinces, the Cacadu district is the centre of mohair and wool farming in the Eastern Cape, and contributes a high proportion of the world’s total mohair production.
While mohair is already strongly associated with the Cacadu district, the initiative to turn the region into a hub for natural fibre goes far beyond just one raw material, as a vast range of natural plant and animal fibres are cultivated in the area.
Currently there is little processing and down-stream value addition on these valuable animal and plant fibres within the district, a situation that the Cacadu District Municipality is hoping to remedy through the Cacadu Natural Fibre Hub Initiative.
Agave Americana, which is used in the production of tequila, is currently grown in the region and pilot trials are also being conducted into cotton. In Bathurst, the Ndlambe Natural Industrial Products (NNIP) and local pineapple farmers are spearheading the development of a R260 million facility which will involve utilising and beneficiating plant material which the pineapple grows upon and which is currently regarded as waste.
The NNIP has developed processes to extract high quality cellulose fibre from the plant leaf material and bromelain enzymes from the stems. The fibre will be processed through textile machinery and spun into a high value yarn, with the bromelain being sold to nutraceutical markets. The latter is used as an anti-inflammatory agent and a post-operative healing aid in surgical applications, most notably in glaucoma surgery. The development will also bring a number of downstream opportunities.
Further pilots are also being carried out on the feasibility of growing hemp and flax in the Cacadu district at the ARC-IIC research station located at Addo.
The Eastern Cape’s Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs (DEDEA) is also allocating R6m to the wider Eastern Cape Fibre Hub Initiative, which incorporates the Cacadu pilot projects.
As part of the Cacadu Natural Fibre Hub Initiative, the municipality is concentrating on three key areas:
- Establishment and strengthening of Mohair SMMEs in the Cacadu district
- Establishment of the Cacadu Agave Complex
- Value addition to the Pineapple Leaf Fibre waste in support of Ndlambe Natural Industrial Products initiative
South Africa currently produces 54% of the world’s total mohair production, with three quarters of this production originating in the Eastern Cape, which is already the hub for the processing of mohair including washing, combing, sorting and auctions.
Two of the world’s four main processing plans for mohair are located in the Eastern Cape, which means that much of the remaining mohair that is not produced in South Africa is still imported into the country to be processed.
Once processed the majority of mohair is exported to Asia (China and Japan) and Europe (Italy, France, and the UK), which brings in around R500m in foreign revenues to South Africa. This figure is coming from a low-point, however, as production has fallen dramatically.
Angora goats used in the production of mohair
Mohair production in South Africa peaked in the 1980s and has been in a steady decline ever since. While production now appears to have stabilised, the mohair industry remains under pressure as a result of the fluctuation in prices and various production constraints.
The Cacadu District Municipality is working with the Mohair industry not only to add value to the raw material but also to create additional employment and stimulate the economy by developing new opportunities and promoting tourism on the mohair route.
As part of these combined efforts to combat the decline in mohair production, the Cacadu District Municipality is one of the key supports of the International Mohair Summit, to be held next year, as a means of stimulating growth within the sector.
International Mohair Summit
As part of its efforts to reinvigorate the mohair industry and stimulate international demand for the product, the Cacadu district is hosting the world’s first International Mohair Summit on 3-8 November 2009.
The summit is expected to facilitate further interaction between growers, buyers and retailers, as well as assisting the local industry to produce higher value goods as opposed to exporting just the raw product.
The International Mohair Summit is set to become an annual event, thereby bringing sustained and growing returns to the region by building on the success of the event each year. Timeously, the first event next year will also coincide with the United Nation’s “International Year of the Natural Fibre” in 2009.
Cacadu Agave Complex
The Cacadu Agave initiative is also winning support, with the CSIR allocating R12m over three years for further research into agave Americana, a plant that has traditionally been used in the manufacture of tequila.
The Cacadu District Municipality is also making a joint investment with the CSIR for the purchase of the “hammer mill” technology that will be located in the Camdeboo Municipality.
The Agave Distillery, in Graaff-Reinet, has already produced and sold South African brands of tequila, and is currently under auction to be sold following the death of its director earlier this year.
Pineapple Leaf Fibre initiative
Pineapple fibres from the Ndlambe Natural Industrial Products (NNIP) have already been sent to the CSIR and are currently being processed and evaluated for their properties.
Already the CSIR research on processing has proven that pineapple leaf fibres could be processed on the cotton system – technologies used by Da Gama Textiles.
For more information on the Cacadu District Municipality or the Cacadu Natural Fibre Hub Initiative please contact:
Name: Mickey Mama, Economic Development Director
Email: mmama@cacadu.co.za
Tel: +27 41 508 7339
