Ulster Wool, a farmer-owned cooperative, has confirmed that producer-payment is now being made for wool delivered to the co-op in 2022 – on receipt of this year’s clip from individual flock owners.

Prices for good quality samples are in the region of 30p/kg with Blackface wool coming in at 19p/kg.

Ulster Wool’s joint depot manager, Jayne Harkness-Bone, outlined the current position to Agriland:

“We continue to pay the best possible price for wool. A new season of Wool Board auctions starts this week.

“There is growing speculation that prices are turning the corner. The coming weeks will, hopefully, confirm this trend.”

Earlier this week the National Sheep Association (NSA) held its 2023 ‘Sheep Northern Ireland’ event in Co. Armagh and Harkness Bones was one of the attendees.

She said that Ulster Wool is now guaranteeing full traceability of all of the wool it handles, from farm to final user.

This is being achieved through a wool trace QR attached to every fleece delivered to Ulster Wool’s depot at Muckamore in Co Antrim.

Harkness Bones added: “Many end users of wool want to know the heritage of the product they are using: we are now in a position to meet this requirement in full.”

She also went on to confirm the role of the newly constituted ‘Irish Grown Wool Council’ as a vehicle to develop new marketing opportunities for wool across the island of Ireland.

The Irish government has made €30,000 to fund the establishment of the new body.

This group will help promote wool as a natural, sustainable and versatile material and help improve the quality of Irish-farmed wool and facilitate collaboration in product and market research.

The all-island council brings together industry representatives from both sides of the border to improve and realise the potential of the Irish wool sector.

It is envisaged that the formation of the new body will lead to the creation of an All-Ireland wool brand.

However making this happen will require the active input from the Circular Bioeconomy Cluster Southwest at Munster Technological University (MTU), based in Tralee, Co Kerry.

It will undertake a research, development and innovation project to support farmers, sole traders, enterprises and those wishing to make best use of wool.

The results of this project would then be aimed at adding value across the supply chain from farm to end product.

It is also anticipated that the MTU work will comprise an assessment of the co-operative based procurement and marketing procedures, operated by Ulster Wool.