SA wool expecting good year after many challenging months
With 2023 labelled as its recovery year, the SA wool industry is off to a good start as markets showed positive growth and a revival of foreign markets is expected in 2024 .
Foot and mouth disease, sluggish markets from its biggest foreign importers and pressures from animal rights groups were just some of the challenges the global wool industry faced in recent months.
However, positive news from abroad, and 4% growth in the average price of wool at the first auction for January, indicated that the sought-after natural fibre might turn the tide in 2024.
Local wool production only comprises about 2% of the world’s total wool clip, but due to its exceptional quality, SA is the second largest supplier of apparel wool, or “fashion” wool.
And the majority of the 41,000 tonnes of this prized produce passes through Gqeberha, under the watchful eye of industry body Cape Wools SA.
Cape Wools chief executive Deon Saayman said SA was also the largest supplier of certified sustainable wool, making the product sought after and gaining popularity in foreign markets.
Last week, after the first wool auction of 2024, the average price for wool increased in all variants of fibre on offer.
Certified sustainable wool increased by 4.6% to sell at an average price of R182.37 a kilogram, while the price of noncertified wool increased by 4.2% to end on R160.62/kg.
The increases are largely owing to the Chinese market slowly recovering from the lingering impact of Covid-19.
Saayman said wool was sold in these two categories as the process of bringing sheep farmers and wool producers in line with the standards set by the global market was an ongoing process.
These standards include animal welfare practices, sustainable farming and social welfare.
“On top of the existing standards, the wool industry has partnered with the mohair industry and international sustainability leaders Textile Exchange to conduct a lifecycle analysis of wool.
“Through this process, we will be exploring how we can make the entire industry, from farm level right through to the end user, more sustainable.”
Saayman said they were expecting fluctuations in the market as the year carries on, but were happy to see the recent sharp increase in prices .
“This indicates that we may be coming out on the other side of the many challenges that impacted the industry, most of which were completely out of our control.
“However, we have taken steps to try to ensure that many of these challenges to not arise again.”
He said concerns over outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in parts of the country outside the wool production region led to China banning the import of SA wool for periods in 2019 and 2022.
To prevent this, Cape Wools has appointed its own veterinarian who now works closely with state vet services to improve biosecurity measures and to clearly distinguish between what animal products are susceptible to foot and mouth.
Animals rights groups constantly have the global wool industry in its sights, targeting mostly Australia, the largest wool producer in the world.
“Unfortunately, when Australia is targeted the entire industry suffers, so education and clarifying the differences between the countries and the products we supply is an ongoing endeavour,” Saayman said.
“We are fortunate to have a resilient industry and farmers who have overcome every challenge thrown their way for many generations.”
Due to its exceptional quality, SA is the second largest supplier of apparel wool, or ‘fashion’ wool