Australia has trimmed its forecast for wool production by nearly 5 per cent as dry weather across the world’s largest producer of the fiber squeezed production to at least a 21-year low - the worst on record. According to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), wool production during the 2018/19 season will total 385,000 tonnes, a decline from the September estimate of 404,000 tonnes.

With Australia’s east coast, home to the majority of the country’s livestock industry, receiving 40 percent less rainfall, farmers have been forced to cull sheep after pastures wilted.

While the drought has left many Australian farmers struggling to survive, the decline in production will also pressure the global garment manufacturing industry.

Australia provides about 90 percent of the world’s exported fine wool used in clothing manufacturing. Lower production will force millers to either pass on the cost or require retailers to cut down on the use of the fiber.