AWI backs wool market revamp

The Wool Exchange Portal (WEP) has been recommended by the Wool Selling System Review (WSSR) panel.

AWI chief executive Stuart McCullough told Stock & Land if the industry supported the WSSR panel's main recommendation of establishing a WEP - a metasearch engine linked to current selling systems - AWI would finance the development and maintenance of the website.

"It makes no sense that 95 per cent of the Australian wool clip is sold (via open-cry)," Mr McCullough said.

"It makes no sense there has been no digital disturbance in this area.

"Every other industry in the world has got some form of digitalisation."

During a recent growers' update in Adelaide, South Australia, Mr McCullough said there was commercial interest in supporting WEP.

"That has attracted a lot of interested from commercial people so we are fielding calls from them but that will feature in the final document," he said.

"I won't be drawn on who they are but there is a lot of commercial interest in this at the moment."

Following the WSSR July workshop in Melbourne, which explained the panel's recommendations, Wool Producers Australia withdrew its support for the WEP, due to concerns growers would need to finance the system.

"(I believe this is) potentially a genuine use of woolgrowers money, to build this and predominantly it would be code writing," Mr McCullough said.

"I think we could, with the permission of the Department of Agriculture, invest in this.

"It is in the development phase but you wouldn't do it unless you had commercial partners or industry partners."

The panel is expected to present its final report to the AWI board on November 19.

"We have Monash university professors on this, potentially we'll get code writers on to format and we'll write it up for the final paper," Mr McCullough said.

"If, after that, the industry decides to adopt it or we get enough commercial interest then we will progress with it."

He said the WEP was born from the WSSR aim to find an alternative selling option for woolgrowers that was well explained, documented and easy to use.

"Good on (the panel) for taking quantum leap and not recommending the same old stuff that has been recommended in every other dust collector that has been done on the industry," Mr McCullough said.

"These guys are serious - I planned o put together the best competition, best productivity minds and the best business minds I could, we got them together and at an arm's length through AWI.

"Our only agenda is to make more money for woolgrowers."