A proposed move to shift wool sales from Sydney to Goulburn would have little impact on farmers in the region, one wool expert says.
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Landmark north-east wool manager David Hart said while a shift to Goulburn wouldn’t impact on growers, he doesn’t expect it will happen anyway.
“I consider the chances of it happening to be fairly low. There isn’t a lot of gain from a statewide point of view,” he said.
“It would be convenient for southern growers but the cost savings would be small and I just don’t see it happening.”
Wool bales are taken from farms closest storage facilities including Dubbo, Bathurst, Newcastle, Goulburn and Wagga, until they are sold so transport costs for growers wouldn’t change if the move occurred.
The proposal was made by Regional Development Australia Southern Inland (RDISI) that the sales location, which has been based at Yennora since 1971, be moved because of high rent costs and the state of the current facilities.
He said Landmark and other brokers that he had talked to had “virtually no discussions” about a potential move.
“From that perspective we don’t know a lot but it has caused anxiety for Yennora-based staff about their futures. I think there should be clarification as soon as possible to resolve the situation,” Mr Hart said.
“If it did happen I would be concerned that a lot of experience and skill would be lost because those staff would be unwilling to move from Sydney. Yennora has served the industry well and could continue to do so.”
RDISI hosted a forum in Goulburn on the issue in August and its chairman Mark Schweikert told Fairfax Media there was positive reaction to the suggestion.
"There was a mood to leave Yennora and for the sales not to be lost to Melbourne," he said of the forum. "Everyone has a soft spot for Goulburn, but no one was saying 'let's do it now'. There is some caution on everyone's behalf and that's to be expected so we make sure it's the right choice."
