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Italian fabric maker sets up Wool Excellence Clubs

To contest the moving away from wool production in Australia, European luxury fabric and suit makers have set up Wool Excellence Clubs. They would reward the very best Australian wool producers with top prices. The club, set up by Italian fabric maker Vitale Barberis, has 23 members in all.

The Australian Wool Network is also offering some super fine producers, contracts and premium prices to supply it with wool. All the 23 members in the club have to meet strict conditions, their wool has to be from Saxon Merinos and should have the right elasticity and density. The Tasmanian southern Midlands property of Miena, owned by 91-year-old patriarch Des Manning, is one of the club's exclusive members.

Australian sheep numbers, particularly those of the superfine variety, have fallen sharply in the past 50 years from a high of 180 million in 1970 to a near record low of about 70 million as of today. Many have been lured away from wool farming because of changing demands, the decline in profitability of wool, the increase in production of other fibres and good lamb, mutton and beef prices. The contract with Vitale Barberis is a more lucrative proposition than selling at the weekly Melbourne Wool Auction, with the Italian company offering 20 to 30 per cent higher prices.

 
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