Australia sees Indonesia as major wool mart

Australia sees Indonesia as major wool mart

SYDNEY (Reuter): A rejuvenating Australian wool industry sees Indonesia, one of the hottest countries in the world, as a major new market as wool innovates to recapture a growing share of the world apparel market.

Indonesia currently consumes about 1,500 tons a year of Australian wool, worth about A$20 million.

But by 2000 consumption is expected to reach 6,000 tons a year, an increase of 300 percent, said Adrian Kloeden, managing director of the International Wool Secretariat (IWS).

Kloeden, speaking to Reuters after announcing that wool was gaining a strong foothold in Indonesia, said the country had the potential to grow into a A$100 million a year market for Australian wool.

"Until now people have said that wool and hot weather don't mix. We have proved them wrong with innovative products like Cool Wool and easy care wool, designed to suit warm climates," Kloeden said.

Cool Wool is a pure wool product but there were a whole range of blend opportunities, he said.

Battling a stagnant international share of the apparel market in recent years, Australian wool's drive into Indonesia is part of a wider attempted re-birth.

"Very environmentally friendly, hot and hairy, heavy, suitable for winter, a bit scratchy, that's the old image. The new consumer requirements are lightweight, suitable for all the seasons of the year, easy to care for and casual and youthful," he said.

Kloeden also sees spin-offs for Australian business in general from the push into Indonesia.

Macquarie Textiles, Australia's largest textile maker, has entered into a marketing agreement with PT Georgia Macquarie Indonusa to manufacture wool suits in Indonesia, he said.

This is the first time an Australian textile group has attempted entry to textile manufacturing in Indonesia since failed attempts in the 1970s, he said.

IWS had also assisted in the establishment of a worsted spinning joint venture between PT Hadtex of Bandung and the German spinner Stohr, he said.

The joint venture had recently doubled its capacity and was sourcing high quality wool tops from Australia, he said.

Fashion parades

The IWS wool drive into Indonesia will involve fashion parades with the Australian collection to feature designs by Country Road, Carla Zampatti, Jane Lamerton and others.

The Indonesian collection will feature Poppy Dharsono, Itang Yunasz, Iwan Tirta and Ramli. Well-known international designers also feature.

Technology also is being developed to allow batik printing on pure wool fabrics.

The push into Indonesia would also boost Australia's early stage wool processors because later stage processing will be undertaken in Indonesia, Kloeden said.

"We expect this Indonesian initiative to be a springboard for Australian wool into other ASEAN countries, some of the fastest- growing consumer markets in the world," he said.

Manufacturing costs for spinning and weaving in Indonesia were about 50 cents an hour compared with $12.00 in the U.S. and U$25.00 in Japan. Australian costs were just slightly less than in the U.S., he said.

"(Indonesia) will not be another China (for Australian wool)," he said. "But it's a high-growth, high-value market for Australia."