WoolProducers Australia in strategic partnership with Vietnam

WoolProducers Australia has established a strategic partnership with the Australian Industry Hub (AusHub) in Vietnam to explore opportunities to expand wool trade. After a competitive application process, AusHub Vietnam has allocated an in-country wool industry representative to peak woolgrower representative body WoolProducers Australia. WoolProducers Australia is one of three successful industry groups that will be supported by a dedicated industry representative in Vietnam through the AusHub program. WoolProducers chief executive officer Jo Hall said she was pleased that WoolProducers secured this resource on behalf of all Australian woolgrowers. “We intend to use the AusHub wool industry representative to build on the recommendations and opportunities identified in the Ensuring a Sustainable Future for Australia’s Wool Supply Chain report conducted by Deloitte Access Economics, which was released in November 2022,” she said. “The dedicated wool representative will assist with the identification of pathways to expand trade opportunities for Australian wool to Vietnam.” Ms Hall said Vietnam had strong economic growth prospects with a forecast 7 per cent growth in GDP in the coming year. Complementing the growing textile sector within Vietnam, imports of carded and combed wool had been growing in recent years. More recently, a major global wool spinning operation has established a facility in Vietnam. Ms Hall said the Deloitte Access Economics’ report identified Vietnam as a country worthy of further assessment for the establishment of early-stage wool processing as an avenue for market expansion. The report found that the cost of expansion to numerous countries, particularly India, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Indonesia could add up to $1.3 billion to wool industry output and $1.8 billion in GDP by 2050, as well as mitigate the most serious risks the industry faces. While feasible, the report stated that expansion would be a complex process that would involve many moving parts. Ms Hall said the report assessment combined with the outlook for economic growth in Vietnam, particularly within its textile sector, presented an ideal opportunity for both countries. “While market development activities have taken place in Vietnam in the past, the partnership with AusHub is seeking to identify strategic opportunities for new and vastly expanded early and intermediate-stage wool processing,” she said. “It is our intention that the AusHub wool industry representative will work closely with current Australian Wool Innovation market development activities in Vietnam.” The Australian Industry Hub is an initiative between the Australian Chamber of Commerce Vietnam (AusCham) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to facilitate access to markets in Vietnam for Australian industry groups in food fibre and forestry. “WoolProducers are proud to have shown leadership in this space and appreciate the opportunity presented by the AusCham and DFAT through the AusHub industry representatives,” Ms Hall said. This year is the 50th anniversary of Australian and Vietnamese diplomatic relations — the coinciding slogan is “People, Partnership, Prosperity”.