Record XBRED prices in first ever NZ Strong Wool offering in Melbourne auction

Excitingly, the $9.00/kg level was broken in a first ever for crossbred Hogget fleece at the Melbourne auctions last week.

The New Zealand Merino Company (NZM) has long proven success achieving premiums for growers offering Merino and Mid-Micron wools at their 100% certified feature catalogues in Melbourne.

Last week the NZM decided it was time for its first ever certified crossbred Melbourne offering at the Melbourne auction.

NZM has been generating demand for the certified crossbred market across the globe for several years. The result has driven awareness and built a new level of competition for New Zealand strong wool growers.

Matt Hand, General Manager of Global Supply at NZM said, “Finally, our growers are being rewarded for their commitment and investment.

“The NZM model consistently invests in generating greater demand for certified wool, driving greater price outcomes for our growers.”

Crossbred Hoggets sold at from $7.80/kg, a new record for 33micron Hogget fleece, to an eyewatering level $9.24/kg being the top price of the day for a beautiful line of 30micron hoggets from James and Sharron Scott of the Otago clip, KD12.

This was closely followed by Charles, Pip and William Reid of Traquair Station, one of the first growers to support NZM’s venture into strong wool over 8 years ago, with a 24-bale line of 31micron Hoggets reaching $8.55/kg clean.

Adult wool, 34 to 36 micron prices landed at an entirely new level of $7.08 to $7.35.

Keith Ovens, NZM General Manager of Commercial said, “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen crossbred wool sell at these levels in my 48 years of marketing wool.”

Ovens said the entire New Zealand wool clip could benefit from this level of competition, “provided we proactively and collectively change the way the clip has been sold and traded for the last 100+ years.

“The delicate and deliberate way in which NZM manages the flow of certified wool into the market, as the company successfully generates greater demand, is key to building and preserving premiums for growers.

“Pace is important, if the entire country’s clip were certified tomorrow and offered in tradition domestic auctions, we risk eroding these hard to obtain premiums,” Ovens said.

NZM may offer certified crossbred in Melbourne again, however a variety of carefully chosen strategies are employed ensuring supply is balanced and premiums are sustainable.

Download image here: Strong Wool Sheep