AWI Chairman Addresses Challenges and Future of the Wool Industry

“The meetings in Sydney with the Woolgrowing Consultation Group and the Wool Industry Consultation Panel will allow 44 grower representatives to discuss their views on the company’s priorities”.

Among the groups represented: Asheep and Beef, Australian Association of Stud Merino Breeders, Australian Superfine Wool Growers Association, Australian Wool Growers Association, Broadwool, Commercial Merino Ewe Breeders Association, MerinoLink, State Farming Organisations and WoolProducers Australia.

Marketing

“AWI’s marketing budget is divided 3 different ways.

One of them is very much around the defensive campaign, which is in a lot of ways is dealing with things like the PEP legislation, both Environmental Protection legislation in in the European Parliament.

We have had to spend a lot of money defending the right to grow wool, to educate people in the parliaments, to educate people in the communities, which is the reason we put the campaigns together.

The Wear Wool, Not Waste campaign is about defending growers’ reputation, clearly putting facts out there into the environment to make sure that people are properly educated.

So, we have that and then we have the awareness style campaign which is so proud of the very good example of that where we showcase a lot of the new products that are available.

We also can clearly demonstrate investment in marketing in China is driving more sales.

We report in our annual reports each year how much money we spend on marketing over the last 10 years it is $369 million not $500 million as some have claimed. That includes all of our overseas staff and expenses overseas, all of our marketing team domestically and our campaigns.

We know, the global economic circumstance is a big driver.

The other drivers are supply and demand. You've got energy costs, you've got all of those other factors and the slow recovery coming out of COVID is really driving economies down, which is very much affecting the price for wool."

Challenges in the Wool Industry

Mr Laurie acknowledged the difficult seasonal conditions pressures that wool growers are experiencing. "The market simply is not allowing wool growers to make a profit," he stated. He emphasized that AWI has been proactive in communicating with brands about the unsustainable prices, which have led to significant market changes.

Rising Shearing Costs

One of the critical issues highlighted by Mr Laurie is the rising cost of shearing. "There used to be a structured system around shearing costs, but changes have led to costs getting out of hand," he explained. AWI is investing in initiatives to regain control over these costs and create a more sustainable environment for wool growers.

Commitment to the Industry

Despite the challenges, Mr Laurie expressed his unwavering commitment to the wool industry. "I feel the pain that every other wool grower feels right now," he said. "As the AWI Chairman, I feel a sense of responsibility to ensure that everyone in the supply chain can be in a profitable position."

A Bright Future for Wool

He remains optimistic about the future of the wool industry. "Wool growing has allowed us to expand our business substantially over the past 50 years," he shared. "We believe in the product, we believe in the industry, and we know there's a bright future ahead."