Wool production steadies
14/12/2009
For the first time in nearly two years, wool production forecasts in Australia have not been revised downwards and there are signs in many states that sheep numbers are beginning to stabilise.
The long decline in wool production appears to be steadying according to the Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee, which released its latest forecast on December 14.
The committee has reconfirmed Australian shorn wool production in 2009/10 is expected to be around 330 million kilos, the same as it forecast in July.
“Key statistics, including season-to-date wool tests and wool receivals, continue to point to a fall in production of around 30 million kilos for the year,” committee chairman Russell Pattinson said. “While seasonal conditions have been patchy around Australia, some areas have experienced the best conditions in a decade but others are still very dry. The main issue is the number of sheep in Australia. For a range of reasons, including relative returns from sheep compared with other enterprises, it appears that producers are starting to look again at sheep as a key part of their farming business.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recently released its preliminary estimate on the number of sheep in Australia as at 1 July 2009 at 71.6 million head. This is 7% lower than the number a year earlier.
Share this story:
