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The Finalists for the 2017 NCWSBA Wool Broker Award have been selected. The three Finalists are: Candice Cordy, Landmark (Bendigo, Victoria) Brett Smith, Elders (Walgett, NSW) Russell Macgugan, AWN (Hamilton, Victoria) Congratulations to the three Finalists. The Finalists will give a short presentation in support of their applications to the NCWSBA Annual General Meeting and Forum on 24th August 2017, at the Crowne Hotel in Melbourne. The annual Wool Broker Award, which recognises excellence in…

The Federation of Australian Wool Organisations (FAWO) has launched the Australian Wool Industry Medal. Robert Ryan AO, the chairman of FAWO, launched the Medal at the Sydney Royal Easter Show on Friday 7th April. The Medal aims to recognise men and women who have made an exceptional and sustained contribution to the Australian wool industry. National Council of Wool Selling Brokers of Australia is a member of FAWO and I have been involved in development and preparation for the new Award. There…

The NCWSBA Broker Award for 2017 has been launched! Sponsored by Fairfax Agricultural Media and AWTA, the Award recognises excellence in wool broking by a younger member of our industry – be it client servicing, auctioneering, innovation or other aspects of wool broking. This is the sixth year that it has been offered. The Award winner this year will be granted an all-expenses paid trip Hong Kong to attend the 2018 IWTO Congress in April-May 2018. Arrangements will also be made for the Award…

Data on exports from the five major wool exporting countries (Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa and Uruguay) for the calendar year 2017 to May shows only Australia and South Africa have recorded an increase in wool exports in 2017. New Zealand and Argentina have both seen a large drop in exports, while exports from Uruguay have also fallen. Exports from NZ have fallen in each of the past two years while exports from Uruguay have dropped three years running. The most significant…

According to the latest data, AWTA tested 12% more wool in June than in June 2016. This increase comes after the 23% increase in May. For the full 2016/17 season, AWTA tested 5.3% more wool than in 2015/17 at 358 mkg greasy. Despite the increase, the total weight of wool tested was below the weight tested in 2014/15. The weight of wool tested increased in every state in 2016/17 to a greater or lesser degree. The most significant increase was seen for Queensland, which recorded a 25% increase in…

According to the latest Government data on China’s wool trade, China’s exports of woven wool clothing were 144% higher in April 2017 than a year earlier and for the financial year to April, China’s exports of woven wool clothing were 46% higher year-on-year. There has been a significant increase in exports to the EU and a host of smaller destination countries. In contrast, China exports of wool yarn, wool fabric and wool sweaters declined in April (compared with April 2016) and exports of wool…

Wool exports from Australia surged in April according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics which was released yesterday. The volume of wool exported was 22% higher in April compared with April 2016 and the value of exports surged by 50% year-on-year. By destination country, the big increases in the volume of exports were seen for China (+25%), Italy (+110%), Taiwan (+39%) and Thailand (+480%). Exports to Malaysia recorded a sharp decline of 69%, but this was one of the few countries…

Consumer confidence in the major wool consuming countries has risen over the past few months according to the latest data available. This should set a platform for increased consumer spending, although there are few signs that it has yet done so for clothing sales. This lift in consumer confidence is in line with improved economic conditions and predictions. Consumers in the US are the most confident they have been since 2000. Consumers in the EU and China are also the most confident since…

In the past four weeks, superfine wool prices have dropped by between 7% and 8%, while prices for medium Merino wool (21-22 micron) have eased by 1%-2%, the 23 micron price guide has risen by 1% and fine Crossbred wool has lifted by 1%-2%. These different trends have dampened the price premium for fine and superfine wool relative to other microns. The premium for 18 micron wool over 21 micron wool peaked in April at 47%, and has slid back since then. Even so, the current premium of 40% is more…

Merino wool prices have enjoyed a magical run so far in 2017, particularly wool of 18.5 microns and finer. Since the start of the calendar year to date, the EMI has risen by 10% In A$ and 12% in US$, while the 18 Micron Price Guide (MPG) has risen by 23% and 25% respectively and the 16.5 MPG is up by 30% in both A$ and US$. In contrast, medium Merino prices have risen by smaller amounts, with the 21 MPG lifting by 5% and 6% respectively so far in 2017. Prices for the major textile fibres which…

The latest trade data from the five major wool exporting countries shows the strong contrast between demand for wool those countries producing Merino wool and those producing broader, Crossbred wool. Exports from Australia and Argentina are up this season to March, while exports from South Africa are slightly down. In contrast, exports from NZ and Uruguay are down substantially. No wonder the representatives from those countries attending the recent IWTO Congress were disappointed with current…

Data on Australian wool exports for February from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the volume of wool exports declined by 10% in February, but the value of exports lifted by 1% for the month compared with a year earlier.For the 2016/17 season to date, Australia’s wool exports were 6% higher by weight and 12% higher by value than for the same period in the 2015/16 season. The main reason for the increase in weight terms is a 13% increase in exports to China. In terms of exports by…

The Winner of the 2016 NCWSBA Wool Broker Award was announced at the Wool Week dinner in Melbourne on 25th August. The Winner of the 2016 Award is Lachlan Sutton of Elders. In making their decision, the Selection Panel noted they found the calibre of all three presentations to be excellent. They also found it difficult to separate the finalists and that all would be very worthy winners. The Panel noted that some of the most pleasing aspects from the finalists were: their obvious passion and…

The winner of the 2015 National Council of Wool Selling Brokers of Australia’s Wool Broker Award to recognise excellence in wool broking in Australia has been announced. Matthew Thomas of Landmark was selected by the independent Selection Panel as the winner. Andrew Howells of Elders and Todd Clark of Schute-Bell were the other two Finalists. The independent Selection Panel made their decision after the three Finalists gave presentations to at the NCWSBA Annual General Meeting held on Thursday,…