Wool exporters fear it is becoming harder to insure against customers’ failure to pay, according to a report in The Australian Financial Review.

So they are asking the federal government to consider stepping in to prevent the global financial crisis from stymieing the wool trade.

The issue has come to a head because leading insurer QBE Insurance has downscaled its exposure to credit risk insurance, which guarantees payment for goods that are delivered.

“This has been building up over the past 12 months,” Dr Morgan says. “It is a critical issue because it’s imposing additional costs.”