There has been the usual set of data on the Australian industry released over the recess period, including the wool test statistics for December and statistics on mulesing status from the National Wool Declaration.

The AWTA data on wool tested in December shows that the volumes of wool tested fell compared with December 2019. The weight of wool tested was 4% lower for the month, while the number of bales tested was 4.2% lower. There were mixed results between states, with the weight of wool tested in New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland all increasing for the month, but declining in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia. The weight of wool tested across Australia in the first six months of the 2020/21 season was 9.1% below the total for the first six months of the 2019/20 season. As a result, the six-month aggregate is well below any year since at least 2000/01 (which is as far back as my databases go).

Further details including a table showing the weight of wool tests by Australia and for Australia in the first half of 2020/21 compared with the previous 8 seasons, are provided in this week’s Weekly Newsletter. Available to NCWSBA members.