KYOTO, Japan — The American Sheep Industry Association sponsored a delegation of domestic wool industry representatives to travel to and attend the 92nd International Wool Textile Organization Annual Congress in Kyoto, Japan, on May 16-18.
The group assisted in building awareness of American wool and included U.S. 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 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 important 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 country. 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. In addition, problems delivering and processing wool have included soaring freight costs, difficulty securing transportation (land and overseas), high energy costs to process wool and difficulty maintaining trained employees. While 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 apparel 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.
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–American Sheep Industry Association