MAINNational Wool Market Report

Season: 2026/27
Catalogue: 01
Date: 19/08/2026
Port Elizabeth

Tel: +27 41 484 4301
Email: stats@capewools.co.za
Website: www.capewools.co.za
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The 2026/27 wool season kicked off this week, with an offering of 8 982 bales, after 508 bales were withdrawn prior to the sale.

Although 68% of the offering tested 20 micron and finer, less than half of the offering consisted of long length wools. Sustainably certified wools comprised 65,9% of the merino wools offered.

Taking into account a stronger ZAR against the US$ of nearly 2% and the recent market pressure witnessed in Australia, the market had an encouraging performance this week.

The all-merino indicator declined by 6,4% to close on R253,46 p/kg , with the certified indicator decreasing by 6,3% to close on R260,52 p/kg

A highest price of R 335,99 p/kg (clean) (R249,10 p/kg greasy) was paid for a 2-bale lot of 16,3-micron merino wool.

The Australian market also resumed sales this week and their market continued the downward trend from the last few sales of the previous season, with the market indicator easing by 3,3% (AU$) compared to the previous sale held on Wednesday, 22 July.

The major buyers on this weeks sale were G Modiano SA (1 779), Stucken & Co (1 271), Standard Wool SA (1 240) and Fibre Flow Trading (1 136).

The next sale will take place on 1 September 2026, where approximately 3 847 bales will be on offer. Catalogue 3 will be sold on 2 September, with a further 5 671 bales on offer.

 

Key Indicators
SA Merino Indicator Exchange Rates *
Indicator Unit This Sale Prior Sale % Change Currency This Sale Prior Sale % Change
SA c/kg Clean All Merino 25346 27086
6,4 %
ZAR/US$ * 16,21 16,53
1,94 %
US c/kg Clean All Merino 1564 1639
4,58 %
ZAR/Euro * 18,76 19,06
1,57 %
Euro c/kg Clean All Merino 1351 1421
4,93 %
ZAR/JPY¥ * 9,84 9,72
1,23 %
SA c/kg Clean Certified ** 26052 27795
6,3 %
ZAR/UK Pound * 21,93 22,01
0,36 %
US c/kg Clean Certified ** 1607 1681
4,40 %
USD/AUD * 0,7073 0,6995
1,12 %
Euro c/kg Clean Certified ** 1389 1458
4,73 %
AWEX EMI c/kg Clean 1812 1873
3,26 %
Percentage Difference (Weighted): Non‑Certified and Certified Merino Fleece Wools Sold ***
9,31 %
* Exchange rate values quoted above is based on an average of rate points recorded for the duration of the sale.
** Certified Sustainable Wool: Includes Responsible Wool Standard & Sustainable Cape Wool Standard.
*** Selection: Merino Fleece | MF4 & MF5 | VM < 1,6 | NKT > 28 | >67mm | Minimum of 3 Lots Sold

 

Merino Fleece | MF4 & MF5 | VM < 1,6 | NKT > 28 | >67mm | Minimum of 3 Lots Sold
Percentage Difference Between All Non-Certified and Certified Merino Fleece Wools Sold (Average Price) - 202601
Micron Category 17.0 17.5 18.0 18.5 19.0 19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 21.5 22.0
Non-Certified Wool (R) Clean 299,26 300,95 293,32 274,91 259,80 249,86 242,83 238,07 235,27 229,55 224,45
Certified Wool (R) Clean 320,74 318,35 308,94 297,34 284,95 271,15 264,63 262,88 260,34 253,64 247,60
% Difference
7,18 %
5,78 %
5,33 %
8,16 %
9,68 %
8,52 %
8,98 %
10,42 %
10,66 %
10,49 %
10,31 %
Merino Wool Indicator excluding Certified Certified Wools (R/kg Clean) 0,00
* Certified Sustainable Wool: Includes Responsible Wool Standard & Sustainable Cape Wool Standard.

 

* Certified Sustainable Wool (Bales)
% Share **
Total All Wool Merino Wool
Offered 5 915 57,7 % 65,9 %
Sold 5 469 58,2 % 61,7 %
* Certified Sustainable Wool: Includes Responsible Wool Standard & Sustainable Cape Wool Standard.
** Calculated on unique sustainable standard identifiers

 

Sale Statistics (Greasy)
This Sale Accumulative
This Week Previous Week This Season Previous Season (202501)
Turnover (R) 203 471 086 147 464 047 203 471 086 136 144 702
# Bales 8 352 5 867 8 352 8 568
Mass (kg) 1 350 906 919 375 1 350 906 1 311 248

 

Wool Receivals Declared (Greasy)
Current Season Mass (kg) Previous Season Mass (kg) % Change (Y-o-Y)
2026/27 3 825 476 2025/26 4 212 513
9,2 %

 

Offering Analysis (Bales)
Description Catalogue Offering Withdrawn before Sale Wool Offered Withdrawn during Sale Passed Not Sold Sold % Sold
BKB 4733 299 4 434 113 66 226 4 095 92,35 %
CMW 2339 0 2 339 9 0 4 2 326 99,44 %
JLW 431 0 431 0 1 1 430 99,77 %
MAS 823 0 823 0 83 185 638 77,52 %
QWB 1164 209 955 64 7 28 863 90,37 %
 
This Week 9490 508 8 982 186 157 444 8 352 92,99 %
Previous Week 6155 112 6 043 10 97 166 5 867 97,09 %

 

Buyer Purchases (Bales - Greasy)
Bales
Company This Sale % Share Bales (YTD)
G Modiano SA 1 779 21,3 % 1 779
Stucken & Co 1 271 15,22 % 1 271
Standard Wool SA 1 240 14,85 % 1 240
Fibre Flow 1 136 13,6 % 1 136
BKB Pinnacle Fibres 856 10,25 % 856
Tianyu SA 755 9,04 % 755
VBC Wool SA 754 9,03 % 754
Segard Masurel SA 561 6,72 % 561
Lempriere SA 0 0 % 0

 

Sale Analysis (Length, Micron & Class - Bales)
This Sale Previous Sale Accumulative
Offered Sold % Sold Offered Sold % Sold Offered Sold % Sold
All Wool
Length
Long 4 124 3 809 92,36 % 2 940 2 910 98,98 % 4 124 3 809 92,36 %
Medium 3 758 3 538 94,15 % 2 512 2 419 96,3 % 3 758 3 538 94,15 %
Short 1 027 934 90,94 % 565 531 93,98 % 1 027 934 90,94 %
Mixed 73 71 97,26 % 26 7 26,92 % 73 71 97,26 %
Micron
Fine Wool: =< 20 Micron 6 139 5 703 92,9 % 3 839 3 806 99,14 % 6 139 5 703 92,9 %
Medium: 20.1 to 22 2 130 2 006 94,18 % 1 669 1 598 95,75 % 2 130 2 006 94,18 %
Strong: 22.1 to 24 459 415 90,41 % 190 155 81,58 % 459 415 90,41 %
Over Strong: > 24.1 254 228 89,76 % 345 308 89,28 % 254 228 89,76 %
Class
Fleeces 6 286 5 883 93,59 % 4 431 4 343 98,01 % 6 286 5 883 93,59 %
Bellies 693 606 87,45 % 577 561 97,23 % 693 606 87,45 %
Pieces 1 052 970 92,21 % 586 564 96,25 % 1 052 970 92,21 %
Locks 878 822 93,62 % 423 392 92,67 % 878 822 93,62 %
Other 73 71 97,26 % 26 7 26,92 % 73 71 97,26 %

 

Analysis of Bales Sold (Micron, Length & Style)
<=18.0 18.5 19.0 19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 21.5 22.0 >=22.5
Length
Long 291 457 559 571 452 335 333 171 128 63
Medium 441 503 433 430 297 273 186 168 86 41
Short 133 230 121 89 65 33 53 9 5 13
Mixed 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0
Style (AWEX)
Style 4 & Better 222 325 414 344 261 240 250 164 90 20
Style 5 514 662 535 593 382 254 200 146 84 62
Style 6 128 203 162 145 164 116 97 29 31 26
Style 7 & Poorer 1 0 2 8 7 31 25 9 14 9

 

Average price of Wool Sold (Micron, Style & Length - Clean)
17.0 17.5 18.0 18.5 19.0 19.5 20.0 20.5 21.0 21.5 22.0
Merino Fleece, AWEX Style 4 - MF4
40 mm Non-Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 217,36 0,00 202,37 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
50 mm Non-Certified 263,81 0,00 0,00 0,00 257,52 228,39 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
Certified 273,88 282,48 276,42 260,66 254,69 232,01 0,00 222,75 230,80 0,00 206,66
60 mm Non-Certified 0,00 269,04 273,58 0,00 0,00 0,00 237,49 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
Certified 300,38 288,44 290,42 285,33 268,08 255,71 249,29 251,34 243,57 232,12 230,45
70 mm Non-Certified 311,70 313,34 320,12 284,30 261,30 253,43 242,31 239,40 0,00 0,00 0,00
Certified 323,41 324,92 316,58 309,21 283,83 268,18 265,76 269,74 264,77 260,98 247,61
80 mm Non-Certified 0,00 285,82 0,00 0,00 260,33 262,04 238,91 238,00 235,09 0,00 0,00
Certified 329,14 323,00 327,96 301,80 280,59 267,38 262,31 276,10 243,84 0,00 238,61
Merino Fleece, AWEX Style 5 - MF5
40 mm Non-Certified 240,23 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 207,56 0,00 183,27 0,00 0,00 0,00
Certified 257,39 0,00 270,84 231,83 221,03 198,40 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
50 mm Non-Certified 250,22 250,73 219,58 230,21 0,00 0,00 219,09 203,34 198,70 214,17 0,00
Certified 269,58 281,51 261,24 265,82 238,13 227,11 0,00 0,00 0,00 228,94 0,00
60 mm Non-Certified 280,62 264,60 263,64 265,38 251,10 230,50 242,49 231,19 0,00 0,00 0,00
Certified 295,99 290,07 283,01 273,39 269,90 256,92 250,01 236,43 239,77 0,00 0,00
70 mm Non-Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 279,51 257,84 250,64 239,71 237,48 228,57 224,04 225,95
Certified 321,10 301,61 312,19 282,71 271,67 266,52 258,68 261,02 234,89 0,00 240,91
80 mm Non-Certified 0,00 279,64 0,00 0,00 0,00 242,63 240,64 240,05 232,59 233,67 0,00
Certified 329,61 306,92 292,58 285,18 0,00 260,13 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
Merino Fleece, AWEX Style 6 - MF6
40 mm Non-Certified 0,00 239,09 198,63 0,00 188,01 0,00 0,00 63,83 0,00 0,00 0,00
Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
50 mm Non-Certified 0,00 229,19 0,00 0,00 212,15 218,30 226,31 0,00 185,63 0,00 0,00
Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 237,74 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
60 mm Non-Certified 0,00 262,92 239,26 0,00 252,33 0,00 0,00 0,00 207,79 0,00 0,00
Certified 291,67 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
70 mm Non-Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 239,64 118,36 224,92 0,00 225,02
Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
80 mm Non-Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
* Certified Sustainable Wool: Includes Responsible Wool Standard & Sustainable Cape Wool Standard.

 

Market Indicators

 

Market Indicators - South Africa and Australia

 

Micron Category Comparisons - South Africa VS Australia
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