2019 has been a great year for the New Zealand Sheep and Beef farmers. Red meat prices have been at record highs and this has offset the poor returns from wool. This past year there have generally been very good growing conditions on the farms with lots of rain and mild temperatures. As we head into our summer season, the countryside is still very green with lots of grass. 

Sheep numbers have stabilised to approximately 27, 363,000 units. The average wool weight per sheep unit was 5.15 greasy kilogram per head. The total volume of wool grown in New Zealand was approximately 141,000,000 greasy kilograms or 854,000 greasy farm bales. This volume is up very slightly to what was produced during the 2018 year. 

New Zealand Woolscouring had a steady year washing more than 106,000,000 greasy kilograms. The quality of the wool washed this past season was generally very good, very white and bright. There is a growing trend toward scoured wools here in New Zealand with a shift away from greasy exports by more than 3.0% for the year between 2018 and 2019. More than 76% of the New Zealand wool clip is washed here in New Zealand.

A by-product from the scouring process is wool grease. It is great to see that the demand for woolgrease is increasing and that prices are moving upward accordingly. 

New Zealand’s Minister for Agriculture, the Honourable Minister, Mr Damien O’Connor has brought together a group of local wool industry leaders and has formed a “Wool Action Group”. This is a very positive and well supported local initiative by Minister O’Connor. The National Council of New Zealand Wool Interests has met several times since the last Nanjing Wool Conference held in the Shandong province. The Wool Classers Association and the Shearing Contractors  have recently joined the National Council of New Zealand Wool Interests group, now making this group the most unified collective of wool industry players in New Zealand. 

Hari ra from your friends down here in Xīnxīlán