It is a year since Mecardo last looked at the very fine edge of the merino micron distribution in terms of price and volume. Quite a lot has changed in the greasy wool market since mid-2025, and no doubt it will continue to change, so it seems timely for an update on ultrafine wool.
While the latest AWTA data shows Australian wool volumes to be down by 8.7% (farm bales), sub 15 micron volumes are up for the season to date albeit by relatively modest proportions. Lower supply has not been an aid to prices for very fine merino wool, as it has been for the more mainstream merino and crossbred categories.
In May 2022, Mecardo looked at the proportion of very fine merino wool tested by the AWTA which was sold at auction (Article available here) For 12 micron the proportion has fallen to effectively none in the past decade. For 13 micron the proportion has fallen to around half, with intense interest by the supply chain in snaffling the sub 13.0 micron wools before they get to auction. For the current season auction sales account for 38% of the 626 bales of 13 micron wool tested to May.
Figure 1 shows the average price (all wool included) for 13 micron (12.6 to 13.5 micron) and AWTA core test volume by season, with the current season using July to May data adjusted pro-rata up to a full season estimate. Volume for the 13 micron category has doubled during the past five seasons, with price trending gently higher. A growing market with a reasonably stable price stands in contrast to the bulk of the greasy wool market.
Figure 2 repeats Graph 1 for the 14 micron category. For the season to date, 14 micron auction volumes are running at 85% of AWTA volumes, which is roughly in line with the proportion shown in May 2022. For the season to date, the 14 micron is up by a small 2% on last season. Since 2020-22 the supply of 15 micron has basically doubled, with price trending lower presumably under the pressure of increasing supply. To keep this in perspective, the price is down by 23% from the peak season as supply has doubled. For the greasy wool market that is an outstanding result, admittedly not as good as the 13 micron category but the 14 micron category is six times the volume of 13 micron.
Quality has always been a big factor in determining price for the micron categories on the fine edge of the merino distribution. In recent years the development of quality schemes recognised by brands has added another layer of quality to be considered when pricing wool. Figure 3 shows the monthly average price for 15 micron MPG style fleece wool excluding RWS and with RWS accreditation, from January 2024 to May 2026. The price series jump around in 2024, when premiums were low (see article from May – Merino RWS Premiums), and from 2025 onwards there is a clear difference (premium) between the RWS and non-RWS series. The performance of the 15 micron category when RWS is included has been well above non-RWS wool.
What does it mean?
Increasing supply for the ultrafine micron categories, defined here as the micron categories on the fine edge of the merino micron distribution, has steadied or even pushed price downwards. In terms of price and gross value, the markets for the 13 and 14 micron categories have grown substantially during the past five seasons. The supply chain is absorbing more volume and spending more on these categories, and has been for the past decade. They are a growth story, in an industry scratching for good news.
Key Points
- The supply of wool on the very fine edge of the merino distribution has increased slightly this season.
- Increases in supply during the past five seasons have been considerable.
- The reaction of price between micron categories has varied in its reaction to the increased supply.
- RWS accreditation has added to price substantially from 2025 onwards.
Click on figure to expand
Click on figure to expand
Click on figure to expand
Data sources: MLA, AWTA, Mecardo
