Western Queensland wool country still fighting to bring wool back 30 years on from the industry crash

Thirty years ago, Australia’s wool industry was on the brink of disaster.

Overconfidence in the market in the mid 1980s saw the reserve price rise to 830 cents a kilogram.

As wool growers increased production rates, the national stockpile steadily grew to a whopping 4.7 million bales of wool, costing the industry an estimated $3 million a day in storage fees.

Then, in February 1991, the Australian Wool Price Reserve Scheme was suspended and the market collapsed.

Jim Counsell ran…