The Australian wool export data for February shows that that wool exports lifted by 16% in volume terms and by 40% in value terms. As a result, the volume of wool exports in the first eight months of the 2017/18 season was 7% higher than for the same period in 2016/17. The value of wool exports was 24% higher for the July 2017 to February 2018 period at $2.418 billion. The volume of exports to China was 25% higher year-on-year in February while the value was 49% higher. Other top 10 countries which saw an increase in export volumes for March were Italy (+1%), Egypt (+18%), Malaysia (+245%), Taiwan (+38%), Japan (+72%) and Thailand (+575%).

For the eight months to February, the volume of wool exports to China were up by 8%, while exports to the Czech Republic were up by 13.5%. Exports were also higher to Italy (+3%), Malaysia (+48%), Egypt (+17%), Taiwan (+20%), Japan (+63%) and Thailand (+86%). Exports to India were down by 10%, and India fell to third in the ranking of export destinations. Exports to Korea were also down by 16%.

Further details including charts showing the trends in the price ratios for 18 micron, 21 micron and 28 micron wool compared with synthetics and with cotton are provided in the full version of the NCWSBA Weekly Newsletter, available to NCWSBA members.