WOOL prices remain a constant concern for the world's biggest wool processing mill.
Established in 1986, China's Sunshine Mill produces 28 million metres of woollen fabric and 3 million metres of woollen suit garments a year.
Sunshine Mill raw material purchase manager Xiaoping Tao, who spoke to Australian woolgrowers recently on the 2014 Elders China Wool Tour, said the situation at wool textile mills was "difficult".
"We are really hoping the market comes back to the same levels as 2008," she said.
"We really dream for it."
Ms Tao said wool prices were very soft in the current market.
"All we rely on is the global market warming up," she said.
"The whole world market is soft - this is bad for the mills as every time they're buying material, product prices are coming down.
"So they're losing money all the time, every month.
"Every time we go and purchase wool we know how much we will lose."
Click on the image above to see more photos from the Sunshine Mill.
Ms Tao said new government policies and strategies had affected Sunshine's uniform orders - once a huge purchaser of Sunshine fabric.
"We have received fewer uniform orders compared to previous years," she said.
"The Chinese government has opened the market, looking for the lowest price for orders, another reason for the cost of wool coming down.
"Sunshine always used to have very big orders, but now it's all very small orders and a variety of different types."
She said another reason behind the decrease in price was that world garment trends were heading towards casual styles, not formal, therefore superfine wool usage was reducing.
"We feel the situation at wool textile mills is a bit difficult right now," she said.
"Sunshine Group has a very large textile section and right now they're still in full production.
"I hope the industry holds in there and we have our day.
"Whatever the future, Sunshine will always support you."
Starting as a "very little" wool mill, the Sunshine Group now comprised three public companies on the Chinese sharemarket.
It employed 25,000 workers and its wool textile section was the biggest in the world, using 20,000 tonnes cleanweight of wool a year - the equivalent to 160,000 bales.
Sunshine had 150,000 wool spindles.
Besides wool processing, the company also had its own power station, owned agricultural land for food, produced chemicals, medicines and Solo lemon squash and owned multiple properties.
In the past two to three years, wool consumption at the company had dropped by one third.
"The trend is wool content slowly coming down and synthetic content increasing," Ms Tao said.
And while sales in 2008 were split, with 70pc export and 30pc domestic, Sunshine's production was 50pc domestic sales and 50pc export sales.
There was also a trend for broader wools, most commonly 19.5 micron, 21M and 22M to be used.
Miranda Kenny travelled to China courtesy of Elders as part of the 2014 Elders China Wool Tour.