WELLINGTON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government and key players in the wool industry have taken a first step to revitalize the languishing sector, Minister of Agriculture Damien O'Connor said on Tuesday.

Some 40 wool producers, processors and other industry players met at Monday's Wool Summit, held by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) in Wellington, to address the lack of performance across the sector.

"The Wool Summit put the right people in the room who are clearly united on taking a fresh approach to secure a stronger future for wool," O'Connor said in a statement.

They stressed the need for the industry to tell the story of wool to consumers, at a time when the world is crying out for alternatives to plastic and synthetics.

"There was a good mix of enthusiasm and experience at the summit and everyone agreed we need to build trust and collaboration across all parties to turn wool into a success story for New Zealand, as it once was," O'Connor said.

Wool has huge potential as a sustainable and valuable product but has languished since deregulation in 1997, and the unsuccessful levy referendum in 2014 led to a lack of industry unity, structure, common vision and strategic focus, the minister said.

From the summit, a small working group is being formed and will work with the MPI to progress the next steps. The MPI is also investigating how it can use its Economic Intelligence Unit to help the sector better connect with high-value customers, he said.