IWTO Congress wrapped up in Kyoto Japan last week. It was the first in-person Congress to be held since the Covid pandemic hit three years ago. The Congress was attended by over 250 delegates from around the world and 20+ virtual delegates also linked in. Outgoing President Wolf Edmayr South Africa was succeeded by Klaus Steger of Germany (Südwolle Group) who will serve for a two year term. Since 1930 IWTO has... Read More

IWTO Elects new President Klaus Steger President ERWO Holding AG Germany, head company of Südwolle Group was elected President of International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO). IWTO elects a new President every two years. Outgoing President Wolf Edmayr completed his term as the IWTO Congress concluded in Kyoto Japan last week. Over 250 delegates and partners attended the first post Covid Congress, and some 20 vi... Read More

Motohiro Company, one of the oldest wool company’s in Japan celebrated 100 years + 2. The original celebrations were postponed due to Covid restrictions. Celebrations were held alongside the IWTO Congress in Kyoto on 16-18 May 2023. A grand reception to celebrate this event was attended by over 500 invited guests from around the world and extended Motohiro family. Guests were entertained by a troupe of exuberant ... Read More

In April the Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee (AWPFC) updated its forecast of shorn wool production for the 2022/23 season. This fourth forecast is for production of 328 million kilograms (Mkg) greasy, a 1.3% increase on the 2021/22 estimated shorn wool production of 324 Mkg greasy. AWPFC Chairman, Stephen Hill said that “average cut per head is expected to increase to 4.59 kg greasy (up 2.2%) the... Read More

The lower volumes at Australian wool auctions this week could not arrest the current downward trend. All types and descriptions on offer were affected and from the outset, buyers were apprehensive to fully participate causing prices to depreciate throughout selling. The merino segment was mostly affected with crossbred wool and carding types not as impacted.  Confidence has been lacking the past few weeks. That d... Read More

The 2022/23 wool selling season continued with an offering of 7 912 bales on the 33rd sale of the season. Although 61% of the offering tested 20 micron and finer, there was once again similar volumes of long and medium length wools on offer. Certified sustainable wools comprised 66% of the merino wools on offer. The market followed the downward trend in the Australian market, which experienced considerable pre... Read More

The new models of OFDA2000 and OFDA4000 for fibre diameter and length measurement will be displayed at ITMA 2023 in Milan. OFDA fibre testing equipment is widely used around the world. It is used for any animal fibre including wool, alpaca, mohair, cashmere, camel hair and more. The new OFDA2000 is 1/3 the size of the original portable and bench top models. It will automatically measure up to 10000 fibres in 30 s... Read More

It is two weeks until the largest gathering of the international textile and garment technology manufacturing community. Set up your ITMAconnect profile to maximise your participation at ITMA 2023 and you could receive an exclusive gift at the exhibition venue! More details will be announced soon. So, start making full use of ITMAconnect to source, schedule meetings, make connections and more at ITMA 2023. Con... Read More

Savio is launching at ITMA MILAN 2023 two new machines for winding and air-jet spinning: Proxima Smartconer® and Lybra Smartspinner®. These two machines are the result of the commitment of Savio R&D team in the last 4 years. It testifies Savio’s dedication to innovation technology and strong partnerships across the industry. NEXT DESTINATION PROXIMA Smartconer® The new winding machine Proxima Smartconer® is se... Read More

Australia has the second-largest alpaca herd in the world behind Peru, but most still view the leggy camelids as the stuff of hobby farms. Alpacas were introduced to Australia about 25 years ago and were initially primarily used as livestock guardians. Paddocked with sheep, they will kick and chase dogs and foxes that get too close to the lambs. There were 350,000 alpacas in Australia in 2021, according to a r... Read More

British Wool has confirmed the prices being paid to members for last year’s wool clip. A total of £6.6 million will be paid to members this year with exact prices depending on grade and type of wool. Members will be receiving a personalised letter in mid-May confirming the total value of their 2022 wool with core grades achieving 30p/kg, the Blackface wool 20p/kg, Welsh Mountain wool 10p/kg and 8p/kg for Swaledal... Read More

The UK economy is expected to avoid a recession this year, the International Monetary Fund has said, after it sharply upgraded its growth forecast. It now expects the UK to grow by 0.4% in 2023, whereas last month it forecast the economy would contract by 0.3%. Growth would be helped by “resilient demand” and falling energy prices. But the IMF said inflation “remains stubbornly high” and that higher interest r... Read More

THE second Annual Report of the Sheep Sustainability Framework (SSF) was released at a launch event at Anlaby Station in South Australia revealing the broadest range of data to date on the performance of the Australian wool and sheep meat industry. Led by Sheep Producers Australia and WoolProducers Australia, the SSF was launched in 2021, with the first Annual Report released a year later, containing 58 indicator... Read More

EU trade in textiles and clothing experienced record growth in 2022, passing €200bn (US$216bn) for the first time as imports surged from China and Bangladesh, with industry trade bodies warning the increase in trade deficit is “cause for concern”. Euratex released its 2023 Spring Report in which it noted EU textile imports rose 36.6% in value terms with a significant amount coming from China and Bangladesh outwei... Read More