How a Chinese tycoon caused misery for Lesotho’s wool farmers
Lesotho is the world’s second-biggest mohair supplier, and controlled 17% of the global supply in 2017
18 September 2019 - 16:39
Mohlalefi Moteane runs his wool and mohair brokerage out of his veterinary practice, housed in a small building on a dirt road in Maseru, the ramshackle capital of Lesotho.
When a young Chinese business-person visited in 2012 asking to join the business, Moteane turned him away. He saw no need for taking on a partner he didn’t know. Six years later the same business-person, Guohui Shi, and his Lesotho Wool Centre were awarded a monopoly over the wool and mohair trade in Lesotho, meaning Moteane and other small brokers would have to shut down...
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