Wool delegation investigates opportunities in Vietnam- including innovative natural fibre blends

Jo Hall, Kelvin Le and Adam Dawes

Earlier in April, WoolProducers Australia led group of Australian and New Zealand wool industry representatives on a tour of Vietnam. The delegation sought to learn about opportunities for Australian wool in Vietnam, with a focus on the potential for early-stage wool processing and strengthening ties between the Australian wool industry and the Vietnamese textile sector and comprised of representatives from WoolProducers Australia, Michell Wool, eqwools, Fox & Lillie Rural, and WoolWorks NZ.

The tour started in the North of the country with a visit to the Nam Dinh Silk Company, who specialise in wool top dyeing, worsted spinning, and woven fabric production. Nam Dinh Silk supplies worsted yarns and premium woven fabrics for local government uniforms and high-end clients in Japan and South Korea.

While in the North the delegation also met with Australian Government representatives, including newly appointed Ambassador Ms. Gillian Bird PSM. Discussions focused on the ATMAC grant program and the potential for both direct and indirect trade of Australian wool to Vietnam, emphasizing supply chain development in Southeast Asia.

We then headed South to attend the grand opening of Ninh Thuan Dyeing Textile Co. Ltd (NDT) and to visit the Da Lat Worsted Spinning (DWS) mill, both owned by the Südwolle Group. These facilities, with capacities of 1500 and 3000 tonnes per year respectively, showcase significant European investment in Vietnam, enhancing its position as a major player in the global wool market.

At the end of the week we travelled to Ho Chi Minh City to visited Lien Phuong Textile & Garment Corporation (LPTex). LPTex is well known for its premium weaving and tailoring, servicing major global brands; they have aspirations to invest upstream in top dyeing and spinning activities, aligning with the delegation's objectives. We also visited Cat Toung group, a property development group responsible for the development of an industrial park in the north of Vietnam with a focus on textiles, particularly dyeing activities.

The weeks activities culminated with a cocktail function hosted by the Australian Chamber of Commerce at the Sofitel Saigon Placa, a collaboration between WoolProducers Australia, Michell Wool and Eqwools. The event was sponsored by Austrade and showcased premium Australian lamb and wine, provided by Meat and Livestock Australia and Wirra Wirra Vineyards.

The function was opened by Emma McDonald, Commonwealth Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner for Vietnam and Cambodia and sought to showcase the multifaceted opportunities for Australian wool within Vietnam's dynamic textile sector and included presentations from WoolProducers, eqwools, Michell wool, Deakin University and FibreTrace. Over 120 supply chain attendees, including major apparel brands, explored wool’s versatility. A key focus of the event was eqwools introduced an innovative wool/cotton blend using short staple spinning processes, a great opportunity to introduce wool to more of the Vietnamese textile sector with product applications ranging from traditional suiting and knitting, through to light weaves and knits, denim and brushed fleece products.

The delegation left Vietnam with a very clear understanding of the opportunities that exist for Australian wool in Vietnam and a large number of new professional and personal connections.

With an internal wool processing capacity exceeding 20,000 tonnes, focused almost solely on the apparel end of the sector, Vietnam has capacity to process more than 10% of Australia’s wool clip. As our growers continue to deal with low prices and challenging climatic conditions it appears that the time is right for government and industry on both the Australian and Vietnamese side to support growing demand for the most sustainable fibre in the world- wool!

I look forward to seeing wool further strengthen the ties between Australia and Vietnam in the future.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Kelvin Le, WoolProducers’ representative in Vietnam, without the support form Kelvin and the amazing team at AusCham, this tour would not have been possible. I would also like to extent thanks to our Australian government and Vietnamese industry partners, including DFAT, DAFF and AusTrade; Nam Dinh Silk Company, NDT and DWS , LPTex, Cat Tuong Group and VITAS for their support and facilitation of the delegation throughout our time in Vietnam.