It may not yet be exactly a tug-of-war, but the wool industry is being offered two marketing routes that may one day become a serious stoush over bales.
On the one hand is the auction system—tried, tested and understood. On the other is direct marketing, also tied and tested by a few, but not widely used.
The giant German spinner, Sud Wolle, has thrown down a challenge to the auction system by stating a preference for bulked bale lines that can be delivered straight from the producer, without the mix-and-match that the auction system caters for.
Sud Wolle is the world's largest spinner, putting 180,000 bales of Merino wool through its facilities in Germany, Poland and China.
At the recent NSW Farmers Association forum in Armidale, Sud Wolle's purchasing manager, Gotz Giebel, staked out an alternative supply chain model via a recorded interview.
Key to Sud Wolle's interest in bulked lines of wool with little in-shed preparation is the research, established for more than two decades, which has found that wool from a Merino flock tends to have a high degree of uniformity that gives it reliable performance in the topmaking stage.
"For over a decade we have been working in collaboration with direct marketers and topmakers to capitalise on this internal uniformity," Mr Giebel said.
"We are convinced that the results of processing bulk-prepared components of comparable wool clips generally delivers a more uniform product than from processing blends made up from many different clips.
"As much as this may provide advantages to us I understand that it also paves the way for sometimes significant economies of scale to be achieved from the time of shearing to the point where the greasy wool enters the scour."
Producers can do minimal in-shed preparation, perhaps limited to removing dark and medullated fibre, before baling fleeces.
Mr Giebel agreed with local champions of the direct selling system, who argue that larger bale lines makes it more cost-effective for producers to purchase comprehensive objective testing as an additional guarantee of quality to the topmaker.
Mr Giebel said the alternative selling system also allows for a level of communication between different ends of the supply chain that is often missing in the auction system.
"From my present position as a spinner, and from my previous position in the topmaking industry, I can now see how the absence of more effective communication and consultation has handicapped our collective operations."
But Andrew Blanch of New England Wool, which puts together parcels of fine wool for Italian textile manufacturers Vitale Barberis Canonico SPA and Reda SPA, believes that the auction system works very well, certainly for the premium fine wools he deals in.
He told the forum the ability for buyers to selectively mix and match from small bale lots at the wool auction allowed the textile manufacturers to create unique fabrics that set them apart from their competitors.
"I think if you're making a more exclusive product, you want to have control of how you put the ingredients together," Mr Blanch said.
He also refutes the argument that direct selling provides more grower-processor communication, saying that his own company prides itself in keeping growers informed.
"The auction system also provides a way to compare your wool with your peers, and to keep yourself informed about what’s going on around you."
Under a direct selling system, Mr Blanch said, there is a danger that a grower could tailor their clip exclusively for one regular client, only to have the client look elsewhere one year.
In the auction room, he observed, several buyers are inspecting and bidding on an offering, ensuring there is always a market.
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