AUSTRALIAN Wool Innovation (AWI) representation at the Make Smoking History Wagin Woolorama started at the top again this year.
The prime wool industry research sponsor and national wool clip promoter was represented by chairwoman Colette Garnsey, Western Australian director David Webster and chief executive officer Stuart McCullough, among others.
"Woolorama is a wonderful opportunity to meet and talk to many Western Australian woolgrowers, so I'm very glad to be here again," Ms Garnsey said.
While AWI offers WA woolgrowers a wide range of resources covering flock management, improved productivity, technology, market information and people and business, including workshops later this month at Northampton, Dalwallinu and Mingenew, recent external activity impacting on the industry was "troubling", Mr McCullough said.
"The coronavirus health scare started in China which is our biggest consumption market for apparel and also our biggest manufacturing market in terms of processing," he said.
"We don't see a way out of this where wool wins.
"If the consumer is isolating themselves and not buying, then that impacts not only our product, but many others.
"If people were coming out of quarantine into winter they would be buying wool, but they are now into warmer months and we may not recoup those lost sales."
Also, the shut down of live auction wool sales because of a malware attack was "maddening", Mr McCullough said.
"This possibility was identified a long time ago as part of the wool selling system review, but no action was taken," he said.
AWI had moved quickly to build its own wool selling platform in WoolQ, Mr McCullough said, but "barriers" kept being put up around it.
