MAINNational Wool Market Report

Season: 2025/26
Catalogue: 32
Date: 20/05/2026
Port Elizabeth

Tel: +27 41 484 4301
Email: stats@capewools.co.za
Website: www.capewools.co.za
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The wool selling season continued today, with a smaller offering of 5 284 bales on the 32nd sale of the season.

Approximately half of the offering consisted of long length, fine micron wools, with 66,3% of the merino wools offered being sustainably certified.

Although the SA rand strengthened throughout the day’s trade, the ZAR still averaged weaker against the US$, which supported the current market levels.

Individual quality clips once again had a good performance, with a very good overall sales clearance of 96,2% being achieved.

The all-indicator edged up 0,7% to close on R265,80 p/kg, with the certified indicator closing 0,7% higher on R273,01 p/kg.

A highest price of R287,64 p/kg (clean) (R202,50 p/kg greasy) was paid for a single bale lot of 17,6-micron merino wool.

The Australian market traded slightly higher by 0,2% (AU$), compared to their previous sale held on Wednesday, 13 May.

The major buyers on today’s sale were Standard Wool SA (1 306), G Modiano SA (1 089), Tianyu SA (764) and Stucken & Co (697).

The next sale will be held on 2 June 2026, when approximately 5 111 bales will be 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 26580 26396
0,7 %
ZAR/US$ * 16,63 16,44
1,16 %
US c/kg Clean All Merino 1598 1606
0,50 %
ZAR/Euro * 19,25 19,23
0,10 %
Euro c/kg Clean All Merino 1381 1373
0,58 %
ZAR/JPY¥ * 9,57 9,60
0,31 %
SA c/kg Clean Certified ** 27301 27124
0,7 %
ZAR/UK Pound * 22,23 22,20
0,14 %
US c/kg Clean Certified ** 1642 1650
0,48 %
USD/AUD * 0,7094 0,7222
1,77 %
Euro c/kg Clean Certified ** 1418 1411
0,50 %
AWEX EMI c/kg Clean 1880 1876
0,21 %
Percentage Difference (Weighted): Non‑Certified and Certified Merino Fleece Wools Sold ***
6,49 %
* 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) - 202532
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 0,00 297,88 294,35 290,65 277,65 266,95 260,69 256,54 253,34 250,71 0,00
Certified Wool (R) Clean 325,06 322,82 317,12 310,17 296,96 286,41 277,43 272,43 270,04 266,52 261,38
% Difference -
8,37 %
7,74 %
6,72 %
6,95 %
7,29 %
6,42 %
6,19 %
6,59 %
6,31 %
-
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 3 066 56 % 66,3 %
Sold 3 046 57,9 % 66,1 %
* 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 (202432)
Turnover (R) 124 169 669 158 621 729 4 623 481 733 3 793 730 006
# Bales 5 083 6 375 243 927 267 347
Mass (kg) 806 067 1 026 899 38 052 439 41 238 436

 

Wool Receivals Declared (Greasy)
Current Season Mass (kg) Previous Season Mass (kg) % Change (Y-o-Y)
2025/26 42 978 281 2024/25 45 045 683
4,6 %

 

Offering Analysis (Bales)
Description Catalogue Offering Withdrawn before Sale Wool Offered Withdrawn during Sale Passed Not Sold Sold % Sold
BKB 2443 27 2 416 4 22 42 2 370 98,1 %
CMW 1664 0 1 664 14 60 71 1 579 94,89 %
JLW 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 NaN %
MAS 628 0 628 0 21 31 597 95,06 %
QWB 576 0 576 1 37 38 537 93,23 %
 
This Week 5311 27 5 284 19 140 182 5 083 96,2 %
Previous Week 6727 96 6 631 7 245 303 6 321 95,32 %

 

Buyer Purchases (Bales - Greasy)
Bales
Company This Sale % Share Bales (YTD)
Standard Wool SA 1 306 25,69 % 42 302
G Modiano SA 1 089 21,42 % 43 078
Tianyu SA 764 15,03 % 42 375
Stucken & Co 697 13,71 % 31 548
BKB Pinnacle Fibres 429 8,44 % 56 075
Lempriere SA 391 7,69 % 12 326
Segard Masurel SA 327 6,43 % 13 532
VBC Wool SA 80 1,57 % 2 691

 

Sale Analysis (Length, Micron & Class - Bales)
This Sale Previous Sale Accumulative
Offered Sold % Sold Offered Sold % Sold Offered Sold % Sold
All Wool
Length
Long 2 532 2 517 99,41 % 3 352 3 118 93,02 % 143 212 141 624 98,89 %
Medium 2 292 2 156 94,07 % 2 866 2 755 96,13 % 86 613 85 247 98,42 %
Short 428 409 95,56 % 541 501 92,61 % 16 869 16 263 96,41 %
Mixed 32 1 3,13 % 4 1 25 % 10 695 704 6,58 %
Micron
Fine Wool: =< 20 Micron 3 262 3 222 98,77 % 4 781 4 562 95,42 % 169 668 162 314 95,67 %
Medium: 20.1 to 22 1 537 1 490 96,94 % 1 599 1 462 91,43 % 71 451 66 029 92,41 %
Strong: 22.1 to 24 377 298 79,05 % 287 262 91,29 % 11 264 10 700 94,99 %
Over Strong: > 24.1 108 73 67,59 % 97 89 91,75 % 5 191 4 884 94,09 %
Class
Fleeces 3 803 3 729 98,05 % 4 671 4 488 96,08 % 177 878 175 844 98,86 %
Bellies 478 461 96,44 % 710 601 84,65 % 24 498 23 835 97,29 %
Pieces 554 523 94,4 % 865 805 93,06 % 27 581 27 123 98,34 %
Locks 417 369 88,49 % 513 480 93,57 % 16 743 16 338 97,58 %
Other 32 1 3,13 % 5 1 20 % 10 874 787 7,24 %

 

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 136 205 258 314 338 383 263 159 89 41
Medium 263 287 219 316 207 178 100 95 43 43
Short 64 127 51 42 23 9 1 19 0 8
Mixed 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Style (AWEX)
Style 4 & Better 118 138 191 200 195 214 93 61 23 18
Style 5 270 362 250 322 244 283 187 123 68 40
Style 6 71 110 78 139 88 52 59 68 34 29
Style 7 & Poorer 4 9 9 11 41 21 25 21 7 5

 

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 222,98 227,64 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 0,00 224,95 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
50 mm Non-Certified 263,95 260,74 0,00 259,17 0,00 227,64 240,01 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
Certified 277,31 278,80 274,80 266,14 258,85 245,07 236,11 229,05 0,00 0,00 0,00
60 mm Non-Certified 290,74 0,00 279,59 272,83 261,27 256,24 0,00 247,69 235,71 0,00 229,46
Certified 308,31 303,50 298,13 292,02 277,78 271,25 265,93 252,62 252,43 251,90 245,93
70 mm Non-Certified 0,00 0,00 310,13 285,71 277,84 268,60 258,39 258,49 255,37 0,00 0,00
Certified 327,04 321,97 311,34 314,87 303,56 285,72 282,43 271,40 270,14 271,05 0,00
80 mm Non-Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 293,85 288,37 272,41 262,22 258,33 0,00 0,00 0,00
Certified 323,25 330,21 339,62 0,00 303,47 302,01 275,53 272,32 275,47 272,04 0,00
Merino Fleece, AWEX Style 5 - MF5
40 mm Non-Certified 220,60 206,16 204,82 0,00 208,94 0,00 0,00 179,66 0,00 194,88 0,00
Certified 0,00 237,53 0,00 0,00 218,79 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
50 mm Non-Certified 249,09 258,44 250,08 245,11 236,66 218,08 213,22 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
Certified 0,00 278,35 260,86 227,58 256,18 237,98 238,70 233,76 0,00 225,56 0,00
60 mm Non-Certified 0,00 0,00 272,20 273,29 261,68 236,87 239,52 219,33 233,08 162,13 0,00
Certified 0,00 302,51 295,88 276,25 270,15 260,68 256,16 252,45 255,72 0,00 0,00
70 mm Non-Certified 0,00 267,41 293,27 286,61 272,70 265,06 251,54 249,53 256,90 245,43 0,00
Certified 314,17 308,66 305,08 302,72 288,39 283,54 266,44 257,99 251,36 0,00 0,00
80 mm Non-Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 305,30 0,00 258,88 255,11 251,38 0,00 0,00 0,00
Certified 325,01 319,20 0,00 0,00 290,75 283,79 273,55 271,89 270,11 263,50 256,70
Merino Fleece, AWEX Style 6 - MF6
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 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00
50 mm Non-Certified 0,00 202,02 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 186,30 194,02 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
60 mm Non-Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 245,60 234,52 0,00 0,00 177,49 0,00 0,00
Certified 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 251,14 211,01 0,00
70 mm Non-Certified 0,00 0,00 248,56 0,00 0,00 221,37 242,78 226,35 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
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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