Wool price volatility by micron

Price volatility does not have a good reputation with farmers, especially when prices fall, such as was the case with sheep meat in 2023. A recent query, implying fine merino price volatility is too great has prompted this article in which we take another look at price volatility in wool prices. Extensive agricultural prices are […]

Apparel fibre price update

Merino wool prices, except for the very fine micron categories, continue to drift along. Crossbred prices also continue to drift, at very low levels. This article takes a look at where apparel fibre prices are generally. It is six months since Mecardo last looked at apparel fibre prices (read here), with the conclusion at the […]

Merino fleece staple strength premiums and discounts

Staple strength is one of the second-tier wool characteristics, after fibre diameter and staple length, influential in the pricing of merino wool, although its influence has waned greatly since the 1990s. With this in mind, this article looks at staple strength premiums and discounts across various merino micron ranges for the past five and ten […]

Sheep & lamb offtake in the east and west

The topsy turvy nature of this season in terms of seasonal conditions, and flowing from that, sheep meat prices, has certainly not been a “business as usual” period for the Australian sheep flock. With this in mind, we look again at the sheep and lamb offtake, this time splitting the Australian flock into eastern and […]

Competitor crossbred stocks piled high-revision

An article in the Rio Times from the middle of 2023 caught the eye recently as it put a number on wool stocks in Uruguay. It was a large number, 40 million kg of coarse (crossbred) wool which is effectively twice its annual wool production. However, the situation is different in Uruguay due to early-stage […]

Did we get a hint at the crossbred wool decline?

Crossbred wool production in Australia now accounts for around 22% of the national wool clip (based on clean volumes sold at auction). It has been some years since Mecardo looked at crossbred prices in other countries and compared them to Australian prices. Given the increase in the proportion of the clip that crossbred wool accounts […]

The economies impacting the Merino market

Greasy wool prices continue to drift along, with the very fine merino categories an exception. Prices range from depressed (for crossbreds) to low (broader merinos) to quite high (very fine merinos). As a general comment, the greasy wool market is waiting (like most of the apparel fibre markets) for improved economic news from the major […]

Sheep and lamb offtake update

WA sheep in yard

Given the dramatic swings in seasonal conditions since mid-2023 in eastern Australia, it seems timely to check the sheep and lamb offtake levels to see what is happening to the flock size. Mecardo last looked at the sheep and lamb offtake in October (read here), when seasonal conditions were not good and prospects were grim. […]

Profile of the NZ wool clip

New Zealand is the big broad crossbred wool producer and exporter, as well as having a good quality merino clip which is similar in size to the New England regional clip. So it is valuable to know what is going on in terms of production and price across the Tasman Sea. Detailed information (supply and […]

South African merino values matching or exceeding our own?

South Africa is one of the main southern hemisphere merino exporters contributing to the merino supply available to the greasy wool supply chain. In this article, we compare the annual average South African and Australian merino prices, adjusted for point of micron. The South African merino clip varies in terms of quality (read here) by […]

Elevated supply and pricing for Ultrafine wool

Wool is a catchall term for a fibre that covers a wide range of qualities and uses. In this article, we look at the very fine end of the Merino micron distribution where despite improvements in supply, prices are tracking at excellent levels. As a general rule around 85% of the Australian fresh-shorn wool clip […]

RWS premiums and volumes for 2023

RWS-accredited wool volumes continue to grow in the major greasy wool exporting countries, accounting for slightly over half of South African production, one-third of Uruguayan production, one-fifth of Argentine production, and some 13% of New Zealand production. This article investigates RWS premiums and volumes in merino wool sold at auction in Australia in 2023. The […]