Indian Wool Processing Delegation Visits Australia to Explore Expanded Merino Opportunities

A delegation from Indian wool processor, Wool India, has completed a visit to Australia to explore opportunities to process greater volumes of Australian wool through its operations, in a further sign of India’s growing potential as a destination market for Australian wool.

Wool India, a multigenerational family-owned wool processing business based in Bikaner, Rajasthan, has traditionally focused on coarser wools suited to carpet and interior textile applications. The company is now looking to expand its operations to process greater volumes of Australian Merino wool, having recently developed a state-of-the-art facility with the capacity to scour 20 tonnes and comb five tonnes of wool per day.

The primary purpose of the delegation’s visit was to meet with Australian wool exporters, processors and industry service providers. WoolProducers Australia (WoolProducers) met with the delegation as part of the Austrade Accessing New Markets Initiative (ANMI) project and hosted tours of leading industry service providers, including the Australian Wool Testing Authority (AWTA) and the Elders Ravenhall state-of-the-art wool handling facility.

WoolProducers Australia General Manager Adam Dawes said the visit reflected the strong and growing commercial interest in Australian wool from Indian processors.

“India is a substantial importer of greasy wool and the second-largest textile and apparel producer globally, yet only around five per cent of its domestic clip is apparel grade. This creates a significant structural opportunity for Australian Merino wool, which remains the world’s premier fine wool clip.”

“It was fantastic to host the Wool India delegation and showcase the systems that underpin the quality, integrity and traceability of Australian wool, from independent testing through to modern wool handling logistics. Businesses like Wool India, that are actively investing in new scouring and combing capacity, are exactly the type of partners our industry wants to work with.”

More broadly, the delegation indicated that there is substantial demand for expanded early-stage processing of Merino wool in India to feed the country’s already well-established spinning sector, which currently relies heavily on imported wool tops.

Mr Dawes said the visit aligned directly with the objectives of the WoolProducers Trade Diversification Plan, developed under ANMI, which identifies India as a priority market for growing direct trade of Australian greasy and early-stage processed wool.

“Upstream integration of processing infrastructure and utilisation of existing processing capacity in markets such as India is a practical way of diversifying trade and managing risk for Australian woolgrowers, while meeting genuine commercial demand.”

“The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement provides duty-free access for Australian greasy wool into India. Combined with India’s competitive processing costs and strong policy support for its textile sector, the fundamentals for growth in this market are compelling.”

Mr Dawes said WoolProducers gratefully acknowledged the support of Austrade through the Accessing New Markets Initiative and the Australian industry partners in facilitating the visit, and looked forward to building on these relationships through a dedicated in-market wool business development resource in India.

ENDS

Images available on request: gm@woolproducers.com.au 

WoolProducers Australia contacts:

Adam Dawes                                             Jo Hall

General Manager                                      CEO

0455 442 776                                              0488 554 811