WOOL sales are set to become more centralised as the nation's dedicated fine wool selling centre at Newcastle shuts down.
AWH Pty Ltd, leases the selling facility, and last week announced unviable costs for the closure.Ending a tradition of about 70 years, Newcastle's last wool sale will take place the week commencing February 25.
AWH chief executive Craig Findlay said the lease on the site could not be renewed due to new owners and there wasn't a viable solution.
"The drop in the volume of wool sold through Newcastle has been horrendous so it just isn't economical anymore,'' Mr Findlay said.
The Australian Wool Exchange's chief executive Mark Grave said the Newcastle sales had suffered due to poor prices and decreased production in recent years.
According to AWEX figures the volume of wool sold in Newcastle has plummeted from 152,518 bales in the 1999-2000 season to 52,764 bales sold in the 2011-2012 year.
Total wool offered nationally has also seen a significant decline, down from 3,558,953 bales in 1999-2000 to 1,944,632 bales offered nationally in 2011-2012.
This is a decline of 45 per cent nationally compared to a decline of 65 per cent for the same period at Newcastle.
New England Wool's managing director Andrew Blanch said the closure of the specialist fine wool sales was "disappointing'' for both the European wool buyers and wool growers, however he understood the financial reasons.
Mr Blanch said there was still a lot of details to "work out'', which included if the wool normally sent to Newcastle would be absorbed into the Yennora sales or if there would still be extra dedicated superfine wool sales.
"It is a loss to the superfine industry,'' Mr Blanch said.
