While farmers across the country may have found a buyer for their wool, others may still be determining what to do with the product.
Agriland spoke with Kevin Dooley of Dooley Wool Merchants based in Co. Tipperary to gain an insight into the current trade for Irish wool.
Dooley said that the prices being paid to Irish producers are “more or less still the same.
“While the prices have remained the same, and while we’re receiving the same prices, unfortunately so are the farmers.”
With shearing costing farmers around €3/ewe, farmers can receive a €4/ewe payment under the national sheep welfare scheme if they select shearing as a payable action.
Prices are still standing at:
- Fine Irish lowland wool- 20c/kg;
- Old season wool- 15c/kg;
- Scotch wool- 5c/kg.
White lowland organic wool would receive premium of 70c/kg, in addition to the normal price paid for 1kg.
With a lowland fleece weighing from 2.5-2.6kg, farmers are receiving roughly 50c/ fleece.
There were 2,562,378 breeding ewes over 12 months of age in 2023, which is a decrease of almost 100,000 (3.7%) on the previous year’s breeding ewe population.
Dooley calculated that this reduction of sheep numbers will take 250t of wool out of the economy, with the loss of 100,000 breeding ewes at 2.5kg/fleece.
It remains to be seen what impact this loss will have on the prices that are currently on offer.
Challenges in the sector
Dooley said working with the product currently is “challenging” due to the condition of the fleeces coming in.
He said that as fleeces may be in poor condition, Dooley explained “the only way we’re going to add value is if we add quality” to the fleece.
However, Dooley asked “how do you incentivise the farmer” when it is costing them €3 to shear each ewe?
The wool merchant said that merchants are “struggling” with labour and that labour in the industry is “almost non-existent”.
“Any merchant I spoke to can’t get staff, they just can’t be got. We get young lads in and they last two days and then they’re gone, they just don’t stick it.”
To ensure the fleece is in good condition, Dooley explained farmers must make sure the sheep were shorn dry and were dagged.
He added that if there were any black fleeces in the flock, they should be kept seperate from the white fleeces, as it would make the merchant’s job “much easier”.
Outlook for Irish wool
Dooley is “hopeful” that the outlook for the trade will be “might be more positive than it was prior to Covid”.
“I don’t think prices for the Irish wool merchant have improved, and they haven’t really improved in the sales in England.
“The only thing is the clearances at the sales in England have improved. If there’s only 60-70% clearance in the sales in England, that means there’s not much demand.
“But if they clear, generally then those merchants come to Ireland and look for wool, and the last couple of sales have been almost sold out, so that’s in one way positive.”
The most recent British Wool sale on July 23 saw a “positive momentum,” according to the sale report. All 617 tonnes of the new season fleeces at the sale sold.
Dooley said that since Covid, in order to maintain a living as a wool merchant, they had to “diversify”.
This was done through the production of wool duvets, pillows and mattress toppers which they sell.
He said that the main buyers of these products come from overseas.
“In particular the US, they want to sleep on Irish wool,” Dooley explained.