Demand for Australian wool in China has improved slightly. Overseas customers are waiting and reviewing again as caution prevails. The fake-fur season is considered over for now so processing trade must look to more normal regular items and lines of production. Gone are the traditional worsted suits and cheap V-neck sweaters that made up the corporate wardrobe for millennials entering the workforce. They are replaced by chinos (containing a high percentage of wool) and polos, tees and a multitude of knitted garments in various layers. High worth millennials are choosing a natural product like Merino while those with less worldly experience are buying polyester/nylon. Topmakers and traders are just looking to survive on a daily basis given the battering they have weathered with the recent downturn in prices.

Retailers are hoping that consumer confidence will not get waylaid in the lead up to Christmas. Spinners and knitters are looking at the topmakers and scouring parties and wondering how they can transfer some of their pain from previous high contract prices back to them. Unlike other fibers such as cashmere or silk, angora or mohair, it’s only wool that has so many different organisations and boards to oversee the production, packaging, testing, selling and shipment of the underlying raw material.