With a 36.4 per cent/kg increase in payment to members this year, British Wool British Wool is paying almost £8.4 million to members. “This represents a huge recovery from the challenges of 2020,” explains Andrew Hogley, CEO. Improved auction prices for wool over the last 12 months alongwith a reduction in operation costs helped British Wool increase members’ payments.

Wool recovery to continue through 2022

Hoglay affirms, his organization is confident of sustaining the strong demand witnessed over recent years. He believes, the recovery in the wool market will continue through 2022, and help further improve prices for the 2022 wool clip.

According to Hoglay, British Wool’s unique collective marketing system ensures a consistent product for buyers and manufacturers alongwith maximum prices at the auction. The system collects, grades and tests wool on behalf of its farmer members, thus helping the organization drive demand across the supply chain and from consumers, he explains.

The ultimate aim of British Wool is to boost members’ payments by adding value to the organization. The firm determines grade of returns to members by calculating the average auction price for the season, Hoglay notes. “For 2021 clip, returns will be around 40p per kg for many core grades, around 30p per kg for Blackface wool and around 15p per kg for Welsh and Swaledale,” adds Hoglay.

Ensuring higher returns for farmers

Returns for a few specialty wool types such as Herdwick and Bluefaced Leicester are likely to be significantly higher, Hoglay points out. For instance returns for Herdwick wool will be around 80p per kg and for Bluefaced Leicester, will be around £5.50 per kg. An additional £1.00 per kg is also being paid out on most types of organic certified wool.

On the whole, the returns offered by British Wool are competitive relative to the prices offered by competitors and in many cases significantly higher, observes Hoglay. However, the organization does not believe in making a profit from sale, he adds. It sells on the behalf of members and only deducts the cost of marketing and processing from sale price.

Schemes for maximizing wool value

The organization plans to continue with its free haulage scheme introduced in 2021. This scheme includes free onward carriage for members selling wool at the organization’s drop points. The organization also plans to continue with the lower threshold limit introduced for the volume premium payment. This scheme entails, clips of 2,000 kg or more will continue to receive an additional 4 per cent/kg with further incremental increases for those delivering larger volumes.

These schemes will help British Wool maximize the value of wool for members. The organization urges farmers to work together and market their wool through British Wool to get maximum returns for this year’s clip and beyond.