In a significant development, New Zealand wool exporters scrambling to fill orders for lower-grade wool have driven up the price of what are known as oddments in recent weeks because the season to date has delivered an unexpectedly high-quality clip.

According to Malcolm Ching, an executive at New Zealand Wool Services International in Christchurch wool oddments are the shorter parts of the fleece, such as from the belly, second pieces, eye clips, necks and those parts stained or otherwise discoloured. They are often baled and sold separately but a paucity of lower-quality wool has meant exporters are blending oddments with other higher wool grades to make up orders.

Wool is New Zealand's 14th largest export commodity, with annual exports of the fiber up 8.2 per cent to $814 million last year. Exporters typically contract to sell wool several months ahead of delivery on the expectation they can buy the fiber at auction as needed and a shortage of lower-quality wool has driven up prices for oddments at New Zealand auctions in the past six weeks.