Value

Australia is the world’s largest producer of wool (in terms of value) in the world – following is a summary of some important facts and figures about the Australian wool industry:

Wool was Australia’s second largest agricultural export in 2006/2007 behind beef, making up around 11% of total farm
There are approximately 92.7 million sheep in Australia
The Australian flock comprises of approximately 88% merino, 9% crossbred and 3% other breeds
The closing price for wool in 2007 (Eastern Market Indicator) 1007c/kg clean
The value of wool exports in 2006/2007 was $3.07 billion
Wool production (shorn) in 2006/2007 was 426 million kg
Australia ships wool to 52 countries with the biggest being China which takes 66% of the national clip
Wool accounts for 1.9% of the total world fibre use
Sheep graze over 85 million hectares of Australia’s land mass, averaging 2 acres of land per sheep

Sources: Australian Wool Innovation and ABARE