The 35th Nanjing Wool Market Conference was held in Puyuan Tongxiang, Zhejiang Province on 23-25 September 2024. Zhejiang Province is well known as the centre for the production of woollen sweaters. For every ten woollen sweaters sold worldwide seven are produced in Puyuan. The Conference attracted over 300 local and international delegates. The major sponsors and supporters included Zhejiang Yongjin Biotechnolog... Read More

Klaus Steger, President of the International Wool Textile Organisation spoke to delegates at 35th Nanjing Wool Market Conference held on 23-25 September 2024. He outlined the challenges facing the wool industry. The world wool industry is at a crossroad, he said. He told delegates that the industry faces a number of challenges including a drop in consumer demand around the world and in China, a reduction in wool ... Read More

European Union (EU) regulatory proposals for environmental labelling on apparel products currently rate wool and other natural fibres poorly. It is critical that AWI continues to advocate EU policymakers amend the proposals before they become law, especially because other markets across the world could potentially adopt similar initiatives. As part of the EU’s attempts to shift to a climate-neutral and circular e... Read More

Scott Carmody trade consultant AWI presented delegates at Nanjing Wool Market Conference with analysis on global wool production. Wool production in South Africa, Argentina, NZ, and the UK, as the global production of wool is forecast to decline by over 2% for the coming year. The production of wool used in apparel has continuously fallen below the production volume of wool used in interior textiles. The gap betw... Read More

The world famous Woolmark brand – owned by Australian woolgrowers – this year marks its 60th anniversary. The Woolmark logo’s enduring appeal continues to deliver significant returns to Australian woolgrowers through its use in the Woolmark Certification Program as well as marketing campaigns. Established in 1964, the iconic Woolmark logo was introduced to help consumers easily identify superior woollen garments ... Read More

Wool prices lowered by an average 1% at this week’s Australian wool auctions when measured in the Australian dollar (AUD) Eastern Market Indicator (EMI). Whilst significant in itself, those  results may have been far worse given the AUD strengthened by 1.8% against the US dollar from week to week. Helping out also has been the well managed lower supply hitting the auction sale catalogues by brokers, keen to play the... Read More

Market mixed. South Island only selling today offering 5,700 bales.  The selection consisted of 40% crossbred fleece average/good colour, 75-150mm, 12% good colour crossbred shears, 5% lambs fleece mostly good/average colour, 12% merino fleece, 18% halfbred fleece, 10% associated oddments average colour and 3% miscellaneous types.  Main competition for crossbreds came from Europe and India, supported by the Unite... Read More

Chinese companies certified to use the Woolmark brand and other wool industry partners recently gathered in Shanghai to learn more about the opportunities for Australian wool in the region and thereby increase sales of their wool products. With about a quarter of Woolmark licensees being Chinese companies, The Woolmark Company in China each year brings together its Woolmark licensees and other partners to attend ... Read More

In partnership with the Turkish Textile Employers’ Association (TTEA), the global wool industry meets in Istanbul, 27-28 November, for the annual IWTO l Wool Round Table. Turkey is renowned for its production of high-quality Merino wool, and ranks 4th in the world for wool production. Join IWTO for wool networking, knowledge-sharing, and a glimpse into what’s new in Turkish wool. In partnership with the Turki... Read More

British Wool has confirmed a strengthened market for wool with prices at their highest levels for four years. Since the start of the season, British Wool’s auction prices have increased by 20% which equates to an average improvement of 17p per kilo.  This equates to approximately 40p per fleece. Andrew Hogley, British Wool’s CEO, said: “It’s encouraging to see the market strengthening and prices improving.  Since... Read More

China has announced a raft of measures aimed at countering a prolonged downturn in its property market that is heavily weighing on the world’s second largest economy. Last week People’s Bank of China governor Pan Gongsheng said the central bank would reduce the amount of reserves banks are required to keep, freeing up more money for lending. He also announced the reduction of interest rates on loans to commerc... Read More