Wool prices remain under pressure

Wool prices are unchanged, with merchants quoting 50c/kg to 55c/kg for lowland wool. Scottish Blackface wool from hill ewes in the west of Ireland is selling from 20c/kg to 25c/kg for wool containing grey and black wool, with white Scotch wool selling to 35c/kg.

Merchants point to a continued absence of Chinese demand as the primary cause of the market collapsing.

Where wool is being traded, merchants say it is hard to negotiate contracts, even for very small volumes. One merchant commented that there is a big backlog of wool in China and forecasts that it could be two years before the trade picks up.

The volume of wool delivered by farmers into merchants’ yards is down on previous years’ levels, with some farmers opting to hold on to wool.

Merchants continue to advise that where farmers are doing this they should ensure that the wool is firstly suitable to be stored and then that it is stored in the correct manner as failing to do so could severely devalue its worth.

British sale

The latest British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB) sale took place in Bradford on Tuesday. The sale reports sustained bidding which led to a clearance rate of 91% of 1.89m kg offered for sale.

This is a significant improvement on the previous sale, which recorded a clearance rate of 86% of 1.73m kg offered.

Fine types of wool were reported as 2% dearer, as were Mule types, while Cheviot, Welsh, Romney and Blackface types were steady.

The average price eased 2p/kg to £1.05/kg, which is the equivalent of €1.15/kg at 91.5p to the euro. This price returned to the farmer is calculated on the overall season price with a 30p/kg to 35p/kg charge included in this price.

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