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India:US wool suppliers eye Indian markets |
2005-4-8
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Wool suppliers from the US find it the most opportune to scan Indian markets for buyer making the most of the fact that Australian wool is in short supply.
Indian knitwear makers will find in US wool a cheap source and easy to blend with Australian wool that is high priced further, not readily available.
Currently, Australia supplies almost 95% of apparel wool imports and it is mafamed for reliable quality, yields, longer fiber length (3-5 inches), white color, low vegetable matter, and low black fiber content are the positive attributes of Australian wool that helps it to command a premium over US wool.
Further, the elaborate Australian quality/grade certification process instills tremendous confidence among Indian buyer and agents who procure wool from Australian exporters at special prices without any quality deviations from the contracted-for specifications at the actual user’s premises.
On the other hand, US wool,industry sources inform, varies in wool quality due to high vegetable matter content and short fiber length, which can be solved by proper classification (fleeces, bellies, and pieces) at the farm level.
Lack of certification variance in fiber thickness (measured by its diameter) and its feel are other price-deciding factors in the wool trade.
Fiber diameter is tested and averaged out among pre-decided samples taken from the same lot.
Besides several other factors like the feel, fiber thickness variations, darker shade and high colored fiber content in US wool are also perceived to be negative factors, resulting in a lower price.
Despite overcoming other problems of darker shades in wool, the color fiber count could be controlled by careful sorting and cleaning at the point of shearing, the US quality certificates are perceived to be not as detailed as the Australian ones which dissuades Indian buyers, usually |
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