AUSTRALIA’S peak body for the wool producing industry has received an $800,000 grant to diversify export markets for Australian wool.

The funding from the Agricultural Trade and Market Access Cooperation, aims to help WoolProducers develop pathways for domestic, early-stage wool processing.

The grant also aims to enable pre-export value adding to Australia’s greasy (untreated) wool and offer it to new and existing markets.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Australian wool exports were valued at $3.6 billion in 2021-22.

The department added that Australia is one of the world’s largest wool producers, contributing around 25% of greasy wool sold on the world market.

Murray Watt, minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry, said the grant would enable the wool industry to find pathways to diversify the market and mitigate trade risks.

“Wool requires dedicated early-stage processing before it can enter more generic textile manufacturing processes, but Australia’s limited domestic processing capabilities leaves our wool producers reliant on offshore early-stage processing,” Mr Watt said.

“Last year, WoolProducers determined that onshore wool processing would not only be feasible, but that it would enable the wool industry to mitigate the trade risks, generate nearly 600 jobs in regional Australia and increase GDP by $1.8 billion.

“This grant supports the second phase of this project, allowing industry to build a roadmap toward domestic and diversified early-stage processing, and ultimately realising the significant economic rewards and risk mitigation opportunities.”

WoolProducers general manager Adam Dawes said the grant would help the organisation meet recommendations outlined in the first phase of a wool supply-chain project.  

“This next phase of work will inform the ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘how’, which will deliver a clear roadmap and finalise our investigations in this area on behalf of Australian woolgrowers,” Mr Dawes said.

“The work of this project of focused on supply chain adjustments to mitigate risks at a national industry and Australian economy level.

“Such work is generally out of the scope of existing commercial and industry funded market research investments.

“The end goal of this project will be to mitigate trade risk, including those posed by serious animal disease threats, and create catalyse diversified and expanded demand for our fibre.”