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Rising prices for UK wool are enough to warm the heart of any knitted seasonal jumper-clad heritage lover. Values still have a way to go before they might improve the lot of sheep farmers but in the meantime, there’s a branding opportunity for entrepreneurs who fancy their chances of spinning a good yarn.
Wool prices have, over the long term, fallen so far that it costs at least as much to shear a sheep as the fleece is worth. The recent average auction price of £1.21 a kilo to farmers represents a nine-year high, but shortly after the second world war it was closer to £19 a kilo in today’s money — before synthetic fibres unravelled the industry’s finances.
There’s therefore little value for the owners of flocks. Wool prices would need to rise at least 10-fold before sheep farmers would even think of ranking fleece considerations alongside lamb prices, estimates Andrew Hogley, chief executive of British Wool, which organises the industry’s sales.
Wool differs worldwide depending on the different climates and breeds that span the planet’s 1.3bn sheep, as estimated by the International Wool Textile Organisation. Australia, by far the biggest producer, is known for fine merino wool that makes clothes including suits. China comes next, and then New Zealand. The UK is most like the last of these, rearing breeds whose coarse wool suits hardier uses — carpets and seats on trains, for example — as well as clothing.
Depressed prices aside, the UK wool trade may have better days ahead. The pick-up in prices suggests a bottom may have been reached; globally, demand is improving as the various wool gluts built up during the pandemic have worked through the system. Supply ought to be moderating: the ending of European Union subsidies has led UK farmers to reduce their flocks even further.
Sustainability arguments make for a catchy marketing angle. Wool is hard wearing and fire-retardant, which lures carpet and seat makers, and above all naturally produced. Potentially, a strategic argument might make itself heard too, as governments re-examine trade relationships and supply chains. The UK houses the only two scouring plants — which clean fleeces and turn them into yarn — in western Europe.
As with many countries, farming in the UK contributes more to national identity than it does to economic growth. But that too can help position British wool as a premium brand, given global TV audiences’ fascination with British history: Downton Abbey’s Earl of Grantham hardly wore polyester tweeds or strode over nylon carpets.
Manufacturers such as Woolroom and Brintons Carpets are on the case, promoting the breathability of wool in bedding and mattresses as well as its carpet-making qualities. Rising prices help support premiumisation better than rock-bottom ones. This may, after all, be a fleece navidad.
jennifer.hughes@ft.com