WoolProducers president Steve Harrison, left, with founder chairman of the Cat Tuong Group board Mr Tran Quoc Viet and key representatives from both countries at the MOU signing.

PEAK wool grower body WoolProducers Australia is continuing to pursue early-stage processing opportunities in Vietnam.

Earlier this month a delegation from Vietnam, including members of the Nam Dinh province Peoples Committee and representatives of Cat Tuong Group visited Australia to promote investment opportunities.

Cat Tuong Group is a real estate development company that has been tasked with development of the Aurora Industrial Park within am Dinh Province. The Aurora Industrial Park was assessed as a potential site for early-stage processing of Australian wool as part of the Agricultural Trade and Market Access Cooperation grant (ATMAC) and rated favourably as a potential site in the roadmap for early-stage wool processing in Vietnam.

As part of the visit, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed between WoolPorducers Australia and Cat Tuong Group. This followed a seminar in Sydney on 29 May outlining investment opportunities in Nam Dinh province. The MOU establishes a commitment from Cat Tuong Group and WoolProducers Australia to collaborate on matters of mutual interest.

Founder chairman of the Cat Tuong Group board Mr Tran Quoc Viet said as the developer of the Aurora Industrial Park, the group is thrilled to formalise our partnership with WoolProducers Australia through the MOU.

“With the experience of Cat Tuong Group and the preferential policies and support of Nam Dinh province, Aurora IP can meet the expectations of global investors, especially in capturing the shift in the Australian wool value chain”, Mr Tran said.

WoolProducers president Steve Harrison said Vietnam has a worsted wool spinning capacity of around 20,000 metric tonnes, which is around 10 percent of all the wool that Australia grows.

“With Australia’s extensive wool production and Vietnams expanding wool spinning operation we have a common interest in establishing direct trade of Australian wool to Vietnam,” he said.

WoolProducers has been collaborating with the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam’s AusHub project to explore opportunities for early-stage processing of Australian wool in Vietnam. Mr Kelvin Le has been acting as the Australian wool industry representative in Vietnam since April 2023. Last month the WoolProducers board approved funding for a 12-month extension of Mr Le’s contract.

“We are delighted to have Kelvin working I the interests of Australian wool growers for another 12 months.

“The signing of the MOU between WoolProducers and Cat Tuong Group further demonstrates our ongoing commitment to continue to work in the interests of Australian wool growers and the growing Vietnamese textile sector,” Mr Harrison said.

Following the seminar and MoU signing in Sydney the Cat Tuong Group representatives travelled to Adelaide to visit the Michell Wool mill and the Thornby feedlot to observe shearing.

“It was a pleasure to host the Cat Thong delegation in Australia and educate them about how we grow and export the best fibre in the world. We look forward to continuing to pursue opportunities for Australian wool in Vietnam over the next 12 months,” Mr Harrison said.