SUBMISSIONS to Australian Wool Innovation's (AWI) Wool Selling System Review (WSSR) have revealed divisions between woolgrowers and wool buyers when it comes to marketing unskirted fleece in the auction room.
Growers see great value in clipping costs at shearing by preparing and selling their wool unskirted, while those further down the chain who are exporting and processing wool believe awarding unskirted wool with any more than a non-compliant certificate (also known as 'D' prefix) under the Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) Code of Practice (CoP) would be at the detriment to the Australian wool industry's reputation for quality.
One of the country's largest woolgrowers - Michael Field, TA Field Estates - who produces about 2500 bales of Merino wool annually, has long been a proponent of classed unskirted wools gaining higher accreditation than a 'D' certificate in the auction room.
"At present, unskirted wool is sold with 'D' certificate, which means that it's non-compliant and in most cases results in the wool being sold in the number two sale room with pieces, bellies and crutchings," he said.
Mr Field suggested if the wool was classed by a registered classer and labelled as 'unskirted fleece wool', it should be sold in the number one fleece room with that clear designation.
"There needs to be a middle ground certificate (not a 'D' or 'P' certificate) to highlight these wools which will still comfortably meet the needs of many overseas mills.
"As the wool has been overseen by an AWEX registered classer, purchasers can be confident they will be receiving what they have paid for," he said.
Mr Field said it should be highlighted on the classer's specification sheets, which are sent to the woolgrower's wool broker, that the clip has been handled in an unskirted manner, provided quality control and any required line splitting had been carried out.
Call for new category
Fellow NSW woolgrower, Grant Burbidge, "Connemara", Tarcutta, called for a new category under the AWEX CoP and suggested it be called 'Classer Supervised Unskirted' (CSU) wool.
Mr Burbidge, who also spoke at the MerinoLink conference in Wagga last week, said there had been a number of systems developed which used quality controlled unskirted wool to successfully produce high quality tops, such as Fibre Direct.
"The sale of quality assured unskirted wool through the auction system would reduce costs within the shearing shed due to labour savings," he said.
He said a classer would be needed to supervise the preparation of unskirted wool and be the quality assurance officer within the shed, which Mr Burbidge explained would prevent unwanted categories such as dags, stain, cots and shanks from contaminating the unskirted wool.
According to Mr Burbidge, under the current system all unskirted wool attracted a 'D' prefix even it if had been prepared by a classer taking out the undesirable categories.
"The 'D' prefix should be kept for all non-conforming lots and the new category of 'CSU' for those unskirted lots prepared by a classer," he said.
Australian exporting company New England Wool, which has two Italian fabric maker shareholders, Reda and Vitale Barberis Canonico, prepared its submission to the AWI WSSR on behalf of the three entities.
Thin edge of the wedge
New England Wool managing director Andrew Blanch said in his submission the call for unskirted wool to be included in the AWEX CoP, and recognised as a form of classing, was the "thin edge of the wedge" in the reduction of healthy competition.
"Unskirted or other versions of preparation outside of the code of practice are legitimate in one-one-one private negotiations with a particular user. However, it should never be assumed this form of preparation be given the same status as 'classed to CoP' wools in other more 'public' wool exchange forums," Mr Blanch said.
Woolbuyer and exporter for more than 50 years, Don Belgre, principal shareholder in G. Schneider Australia, which represents G.Schneider Group for buying in Australia (G. Schneider have wool topmaking and carbonising plants in Italy, China, Egypt and Argentina), claimed in his submission that large unskirted Merino clips were an anathema to the industry.
"Any industry which does not strive for quality is short sighted. There has been a significant lowering of standards over the past decade," Mr Belgre said.
He said 'D' certificate had become a way of life, which was not the intention.
"It seems growers sometimes do not clearly understand what is the optimum they could aim for with their wool, given the region and conditions they have. Overlong, particularly in fine microns, is very common these days, in the aim for increased fleece weights."
Japanese-owned wool buyer Motohiro Co, which has been buying wool in Australia for 12 years and supplies wool tops to spinners, weavers and retailers throughout Japan, stated in its submission there has been a gradual decline in the preparation of the wool clip in the last decade.
Company president, Tetsuya Motohiro, said there had been a significant increase in the volume of 'D' certificates in the market.
"This affects us as many of our clients will not accept 'D' certificate wools, (and) therefore, reduces our opportunities and competitiveness in the market place," he said.
Australian Council of Wool Exporters and Processors (ACWEP) president, Chris Kelly, who also operates Australian Merino Exports and United Wool Company, Melbourne, Victoria, said the 'D' certificate had become a mechanism to sell anything at auction without any care.
"I know that the Chinese have a relaxed type at the moment and are buying crossbred wool, but once we drop our quality standards it's very hard to turn back," he said.
"Sale by lowest common denominator is just writing down the beauty of wool, not speaking it. And if that's the future for wool, we have a very limited future," he said.
Tianyu Wool Australia general manager, Peter Carey, said there were viable alternatives for growers to prepare wool in a lightly skirted or unskirted form, although this was considered more practical when coupled with a six- to eight-month shearing cycle.
"If sheep are well classed and stain free, procedure is followed. The shorter lightly-skirted wools are well suited to the knitwear sector," Mr Carey said.
Mr Carey said Tianyu would not condone the practice of a large-scale move to unskirted preparation for Merino wool, however, it could be beneficial on a case by case basis.
