Wool prices continue to disappoint, with prices paid not really moving all year.

Farmers are being paid 55c/kg to 60c/kg for lowland wool. During the summer, some farmers negotiated 65c/kg, but this price seems to be less attainable now.

Some merchants are quoting as low as 50c/kg.

According to merchants the majority of farmers sold their wool after shearing during the summer, with very small volumes being traded now.

Scottish Blackface wool is selling from a top of 45c/kg for clean white wool back to 20c/kg to 25c/kg for Scotch wool containing a lot of grey and black wool.

Merchants say black wool commands a lower price because it cannot be dyed different colours the way white wool can. This, they say, reduces the market available for black wool fibres. At these prices, wool is not covering the cost of shearing, which is disheartening.

The depressed prices come on the back of poor clearances and lower average price at British Wool auctions.

British Wool is based in Bradford and is owned by approximately 40,000 sheep farmers in the UK.

It collects, grades, sells and promotes British wool to the international wool textile industry for use in flooring, furnishings and apparel.

The latest sale on Tuesday 16 October saw a 56.4% clearance, with 0.88m kilogrammes sold. The average price achieved for greasy wool was £0.99/kg, or €1.11/kg at 89p to the euro. This is down 6.4p/kg compared with the last auction in early October. The clearance is also well back compared with the previous auction, which had a 79.4% clearance.

In the commentary around the report, it said the sale saw a much quieter tone, with selective bidding, particularly on the fine and medium types.

Chinese demand

In general, prices have been very poor all year, with demand from China not as strong as previous years.

China dominates the wool market and if the trade is poor in China, it generally does not bode well for Irish wool prices either.

That said, demand in China is not poor for all types of wool, with Merino wool actually seeing a surge in demand for most of the year.

On average, Irish wool has a micron value in the mid-30s, while Merino wool from warm climates has much lower micron value, closer to the low 20s, which is ideal for finer garments.

Brexit remains a worry for some merchants, as the majority of Irish wool currently goes to Bradford in the UK for scouring.

Hopefully, there will be more clarity around how the trade may or may not be affected in the coming months.