ASI Plays Host to Trade Missions
July 1, 2005
July 1, 2005 -- Representatives from both India and Germany visited many U.S. wool warehouses during two trade missions sponsored by the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) in June.
The Joint President-Commercial Virendra Sharma of Oswal Woolen Mills, Ltd., in Ludhiana, India, marked the first visit from any Oswal representative to the United States. This visit signifies the importance that Oswal places on developing the U.S. market as an additional wool source.
Sharma commented that he was pleased with his visit and was surprised at the wide-range of wool types available in the United States. India is the third largest consumer of wool, behind China and Italy, and continues to purchase modern processing machinery to support its expansion.
ASI also hosted BWK Elders Senior Trading Manager Eckhard Luebsen from Bremen, Germany, in June. Elders is one of the largest combing mills in the world and is the largest, single customer for U.S. wool.
In addition to polypropylene contamination, Luebsen says that Elders is seeing an increasing level of kemp fiber ? short, medulated fibers ? in the wool. This is evidence that more careful preparation of the wool at shearing time is needed to ensure proper quality standards.
At the present time, the wool textile business activity in Europe has been extremely quiet due to the weak U.S. dollar and the removal of quotas with Asian imports.
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