Sheep Industry News March 2024

WOOL DISCUSSION In the same sheep and lamb inventory report, USDA/NASS also released annual statistics on wool production, price and value for 2023. Wool production in 2023 totaled 22.7 million pounds greasy, down 569,000 pounds (-2.4 percent) from the prior year. The average weight per fleece remained even with the prior year at 7 pounds. The lower wool production was due to a 2.5-percent (81,000 head) decline in the number of sheep shorn in 2023 to 3.222 million head. The national average wool price increased slightly by 2 percent to $1.56 per pound. The lower wool production more than offset the increased wool price leading to -0.6 percent decrease in wool value to $35.3 million for 2023. Recently, the wool market in Australia has seen fewer bales offered with levels falling below 33,000 bales in early February. As the number of bales offered has fallen so has the Eastern Market Indicator. In recent weeks, the EMI has fallen from U.S. $3.70 per pound in mid-January to below U.S. $3.50 per pound by early February. Compared to a year ago, the EMI is down 11 to 20 percent (U.S. $0.48 to $0.85) from the same period last year. Prices for 18-micron wool have fallen about 6 percent in the last few weeks with prices around U.S. $5 per pound. The 19-to 20-micron wools have seen prices fall about 5.5 to 6.5 percent in recent weeks with 19-micron wool around the mid-U.S. $4

per pound range and near the low-U.S. $4 per pound range for 20-micron wool. Prices for 21-micron wool have fallen about 3 percent with recent prices just above U.S. $4 per pound. For 26-micron wool, prices have been down about 2 percent to around U.S. $1.80 per pound. Pressure on wool prices stems largely from global economic uncertainty. Economic activity in China and Europe have struggled to gain traction, which has led to uncertainty in the wool market. The U.S. economy has shown signs of improvement in certain aspects, but this has not been enough to strengthen the wool market.

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March 2024 • Sheep Industry News • 7