Wool cheques will be smaller this year to 2015, producers have been warned by the British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB). Wool values have been confirmed at between 61p/kg and £1.18p/kg depending on breed, with coarser wools suffering most.

According to the chairman of BWMB Ian Buchanan, it is a tough global wool market. Strong sterling for most of the selling season, coupled with a weak New Zealand dollar, had been one of the main reasons for lower returns, he said.

The BWMB’s forecast for 2016 shows a slight improvement for some breeds, based on sales in January to April this year, when values had stabilised, said a spokesman. The past six months had seen continued demand for the fine and medium wools as a result of Chinese interest. Meanwhile, clearance rates at BWMB auction sales over the past few months had been strong and there was still demand for quality British wools.