Sheep Industry News July 2023

American Wool Represented at IWTO Congress A SI sponsored a delegation of domes tic wool industry representatives to travel to and attend the 92nd Inter

national Wool Textile Organization Annual Congress in Kyoto, Japan, on May 16-18. The group assisted in building awareness of American wool and included United States wool exporters and members of the ASI marketing team. Additional ASI staff attended the congress virtually to participate with IWTO working groups on animal welfare and sustainability. IWTO represents the global wool textile industry and delegates represent 25 wool producing countries. It is the world’s leading organization for discussion of issues ranging from objective measurement of wool to retail updates. This was the first congress that was a fully represented in-person congress since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. There were 250 delegates in attendance in Japan with another 22 joining the virtual presentations. Sessions covered wool from interior use

there is some activity in wools finer than 22 micron, the wool market remains soft. “This meeting is the central activity to exchange information about the world wool industry and make connections with wool buyers, processors, spinners and weavers from around the world,” said ASI Deputy Director Rita Samuelson. “It is a key source to build awareness of American wool and to better understand current conditions.” As has been the case in recent years, sustainability was a major topic of discussion. A growing issue comes from popular indexes assessing the environmental impact of the ap parel industry. The international wool industry is participating in developing programs to ensure the sustainability claims for textiles are fair and credible, including additional data on wool and natural fibers. The 2024 Congress will be held in Adelaide, Australia, on April 15-19.

to the outdoors, with plenty of insight into market trends and manufacturing statistics. One of the presentations outlined the situation in China as it slowly emerges from COVID lockdowns. China has long been an impor tant market for all country-of-origin wool – including American wool – but experienced the closure of many of its mills during the pandemic. The wool market remains sluggish with a backlog of raw wool inventory around the world and in every wool production coun try. The backup in the United States began when a tariff was placed on American wool in fourth quarter in 2018. Inventories have continued to build because of reduced wool demand during COVID. Problems delivering and processing wool have included soaring freight costs, difficulty securing transportation (land and overseas), high energy costs to process wool and dif ficulty maintaining trained employees. While

10 • Sheep Industry News • sheepusa.org Vaccinate Your Lambs Needle-Free Curtis Civis ccivis@pulse-nfs.com 620-544-6895 www.pulse-nfs.com

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Kyle, please use this for all months. Thanks! Judy 8/7/18