Wool is now Australia’s second largest agricultural export according to the 2007 Australian Commodity Statistics, released by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE). The total exports of wool for the period were $3.07 billion, represents an increase of $525 million from the previous year, defying both the drought and the high Australian dollar.

Combined with the Eastern Market Indicator also finishing the year at over 1,000c/kg, there is much to be positive about the Australian wool industry, said Wool Producers Australia, President Don Hamblin. He believes that while some of the current interest in wool can be attributed to the international fashion cycle, he believes there is a return to an underlying interest in Australian merino wool. Australian wool is ideally placed to meet this market, being renewable, biodegradable and with performance attributes that still cannot be replicated by our synthetic rivals. However, the challenge for the industry is now to consolidate on these gains.