Listen: Good news for strong wool?

There is some light at the end of the tunnel for New Zealand's beleaguered strong wool industry.

Australian-based Rabobank commodity analyst Georgia Twomey spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay and predicted strong crossbred wool won't be in the doldrums forever.

Prices have steadily declined since strong imports of crossbred wool into China in 2012 - 2015 says Twomey.

The 2016/17 season saw China retreat from buying coarse wool which has led to a significant decrease in price for growers.

So what is the good news? "We are starting to see a pick up in demand at the current market levels. China has certainly taken more wool in the 17/18 season to date than they had in the past season, it's up 24 per cent year on year."

India has also seen a pick up in imports from New Zealand which bodes well for the future of coarse crossbred wool, along with an increase in synthetic prices which will make wool more cost effective.