US wool market strengthens due to demand for active sports wear

Australian Wool Innovation has released data from the United States, which revealed a 46.6 per cent growth rate in import value over the 12-month period to February, which highlighted “enormous potential” for the Australian wool industry.

The growth was particularly due to the growing active outdoor sector, which was “becoming a very significant destination for a growing volume of Australian Merino wool”, AWI said.

The US has a population of more than 330 million, of which a significant proportion could purchase a lot of wool at retail due to the cold climate and its relative affluence.

AWI said data emerging from US wool apparel imports showed the country made a strong surge in the latter part of 2022, with imports for September/November 2022 being 20-35 per cent above their 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels.

This has pushed the year-to-date import value around 30 per cent higher than 2019.

The recent surge pushes the US towards becoming one of the largest point-of-sale destinations for Australian wool after China and alongside other significant markets such as Japan, the UK, Italy, France and Germany.

According to Statista, sales in the sports and outdoor segment were projected to reach US$24.93bn this year.

Revenue was expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2023-2027) of 10.68 per cent, resulting in a projected market volume of US$37.41bn by 2027.

Woolmark, the marketing arm of the research, development and marketing body of AWI, has for many years marketed Merino wool’s naturally superior properties such as moisture-wicking, thermoregulation, odour resistance and next to skin comfort across the outdoor sector as brands and manufacturers expanded.

This often occurs at significant outdoor trade shows such as Outdoor Retailer, in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as equivalent events in Europe and Asia.

This has also led to some on-farm visits by US brands looking for a farm-to-fabric story.

Woolgrowers often discount marketing as it more than often occurs a long way from Australia, but the active outdoor market is a good example of where marketing continues to yield results.

AWI’s chief executive John Roberts said the company’s network of offices were reporting positive signs for wool sales across the year.

“There is a real sense that 2023 will be a better year than 2022,” Mr Roberts said.

“Our team in China has told us that a high degree of normalcy has returned after the two-month long Omicron outbreak.

“Most of the textile mills are operating in full capacity since early January.

“The country’s GDP is set to bounce back and accordingly the level of optimism remains high among Chinese consumers - more than half of surveyed respondents believe their household income will increase over the next five years.”

Mr Roberts said with about 40 per cent of Australian greasy wool consumed by domestic consumers in China – that optimism should flow through to more sales.

He said in Italy, AWI’s partnership with Prada Luna Rossa for the next America’s Cup had led to more than 15 other brands expressing interest in using wool in more sporting and outdoor wear.

In Japan, the most recent winter campaign yielded a significant 12.9 per cent uplift in sales of the partner’s wool category, totalling $26m in sales.

“Wool’s eco credentials, particularly it’s biodegradability, have resonated with Japanese consumers,” Mr Roberts said.

“There is a lot of wool to sell as the national flock continues to grow, the latest wool production forecast for 2022/23 remains at 340 million kilograms greasy, up 5 per cent on the 324 million kilogram estimate from 2021/22.

“The largest wool production State is NSW, which is expected to lift by 3.2 per cent, with Victoria up 5.3 per cent, WA 5.7 per cent, SA 5.3 per cent, Tasmania 9.7 per cent and Queensland 13.5 per cent.

“The average cut per head nationally is forecast to increase slightly to 4.54 kg greasy, the mean fibre diameter is 20.4 microns, staple length 90.5mm, strength is 35.1 N/ktex and the average national yield is 65.7 per cent.”