Low production hinders growth of global wool industry

27 Oct '12

2 min read

Insufficient wool production is the main hindrance in the growth of international wool industry, said Chris Wilcox, chairperson of the marketing intelligence committee of the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO), in an interview to ABC Australia.

Speaking about the factors affecting wool industry’s growth, Mr. Wilcox cited the growing tendency of raising sheep for consumption of meat in Australia and the rest of the world as an impediment, which can lead to a rise in wool prices and eventually impact the growth and demand of wool in future.

He also acknowledged the role played by unexpected incidents like terrorist attacks, financial crises and natural disasters in shaping up the demand for wool internationally, ABC Australia reported.

However, he was optimistic that the demand for wool will rise with the growth in population and rising incomes of people in the coming years. The countries where there can be real growth opportunities in terms of wool consumption are China, Turkey, Russia and the Central European nations like Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, according to Mr. Wilcox.

According to industry experts, the worldwide supply of wool is presently at its lowest in the last 70 years. Although the production of wool is expected to increase in the next decade, it would still be insufficient to meet the growing demand.

IWTO is the international body representing the interests of the world's wool-textile trade and industry. As such, its membership covers the woolgrowers, traders, primary processors, spinners and weavers of wool and allied fibres in its member-countries, as well as all kinds of organisations related to wool products and the wool business in general.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

More Textiles News - Australia...