The reaction may be slow and steady but if the wool supply chain wants change, it has to offer attractive incentives. The emergence of RWS accreditation since 2021 is a case in point. This article takes a look at the recent premiums paid in Australian auctions for RWS accredited wool.
Merino prices peaked in June and then eased by around 5%. Crossbred prices peaked in early July and then slid by 11%. The rise last week stemmed the falls, with the recovery being a substantial proportion of the previous falls since June/early July, although the recovery varied according to micron category and the exchange rate used. Through all this price volatility premiums for RWS accredited wool persisted.
Figure 1 shows the median premium achieved at auction for RWS accredited merino fleece wool in the AWEX MPG style to similar fleece wool which was declared CM-NM (ceased mulesed/non-mulesed) and was without a quality system accreditation, for the past three months and for August only (which was only two selling weeks). The calculated premium jumps around somewhat, which is a function of varying premium levels and limited data especially for the broader micron categories. However, the premium looks to vary around 100 cents per clean kg, which equates to 4-5% of the gross auction price.
As previous articles have shown, the uptake of RWS varies greatly between different merino micron categories. Figure 2 shows the proportion sold at auction in July and August which was declared as CM-NM and also that which was accredited to RWS. As a general rule, the proportion of CM-NM and RWS wool falls as the merino fibre diameter becomes broader. For the 15-to-18-micron categories only 40-50% of the CM-NM wool was RWS accredited, so there is plenty of upside for RWS supply without worrying about the non-mulesed proportion of the clip. For 19 through 21 microns, the RWS proportion is even lower (20-30%), so there are even better prospects for RWS volumes, if the premiums are seen as attractive.
Figure 3 looks at the RWS premiums for full-length crossbred fleece in Australian auctions, again for the median level for the past three months and for August, running from 25 to 35 micron. The three-month median levels are mostly in or near 80-100 cents per clean kg. While they are generally lower than the premiums seen in early 2026, these crossbred fleece premiums have been quite consistent in recent months with a 90-cent premium equating to 11% for the current 28 MPG.
Figure 4 shows the proportion of non-merino wool sold at auction which was declared CM-NM and RWS accredited during the past two months. The broader micron non-merino is achieving high proportions of CM-NM with up to 70% of this wool accredited to RWS. On the finer side of the non-merino wool, the proportion of CM-NM falls to around half with only 20-30% of that half accredited to RWS. So, for the finer non-merino wool in Australia, there is plenty of upside for RWS supply.
What does it mean?
While RWS premiums are not a lot different for merino and crossbred fleece, in proportional terms RWS adds 10% or more to crossbred prices. RWS accreditation comes with costs, so the total premium gained has to deliver net benefits to wool growers for them to adopt the quality system. Within wool production at present, there is plenty of scope for RWS volumes to increase without requiring any more CM-NM wool, so long as the net benefits are attractive.
Key Points
- RWS premiums for merino and crossbred have been fairly consistent in recent months despite volatility in the underlying prices.
- Premiums are in the order of 100 cents clean for merino fleece and 80-100 cents for crossbred fleece.
- There is plenty of scope for RWS volumes to increase before requiring increased levels of CM-NM across the merino and non-merino micron categories
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Data sources: AWEX, ICS, Mecardo
