The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Australia’s wool exports shows that the volume of exports lifted by 4% in March compared with a year earlier, while the value of wool exports lifted by 9% in March. Exports to a number of the major destinations for Australian wool recorded good increases in March, led by a 9% year-on-year increase in the volume of exports to China (while the value of exports to China was 15% higher).
The increase in wool export volumes in March comes despite the decline in both wool tested and in wool offered at auction for the 2018/19 season to date. However, for the first three quarters of the 2018/19 season, the export volumes were down by 12%, better reflecting the sharp fall in wool production this season. The value of exports was 3% higher year on year. In the first three-quarters of the 2018/19 season, the value of exports totalled $2.937 billion, which is the highest for the July-March period since the 1997/98 season when the value totalled $2.955 billion. The volume of exports totalled in 2018/19 to date totalled 226.6 mkg greasy, just 40% of the volume exported in 1997/98 for the nine months.
There have been some significant increases in exports to certain destinations for the 2018/19 season to date, notably Thailand and South Korea. Exports to ‘other’ countries have also increased significantly. Many of the major export destinations have recorded declines in volume terms.
Further details, including a table showing the changes in the value and volume of wool exports for March and for the season to date is in the full edition of the NCWSBA Weekly Newsletter for the week ending 10th May 2019. Available to NCWSBA members.
