# Wool

Fleece shorn from sheep: a premium natural fibre whose world output has halved since 1990 as synthetics took market share.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/

Fibres & forest · No. 106

- Not on a critical list
- HHI 916 · unconcentrated
 Fibres & forest · Foundation · Matter

The world shears only half the wool it did in 1990, and nearly three-quarters of traded raw fleece goes to Chinese mills.

Chart: Illustration: Wool

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Wool is grown, not mined: sheep are shorn about once a year. Fine Merino comes from dry pastures in Australia and South Africa. The world clip was 1.70 Mt in 2024.

##### Three things to know

1. World greasy wool output roughly halved, from 3.35 Mt in 1990 to 1.70 Mt in 2024, as synthetics took market share.
2. Australia supplied 65.9% of greasy wool export value in 2024, and China took 73.4% of imports.
3. Australia's reserve price scheme collapsed in 1991 with a huge stockpile that took years to sell.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Flock**Merino and crossbred sheep on pasture
2. 2 **Shearing**Fleece shorn, usually once a year
3. 3 **Auction**Classed, baled and sold at auction
4. 4 **Scouring**Washed clean, lanolin recovered
5. 5 **Combing**Carded and combed into tops
6. 6 **Spinning**Spun, woven and knitted
 Covered in [What makes something a commodityCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/what-is-a-commodity/)[Colour and protection: dyes, pigments, paints and coatingsChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/dyes-pigments-coatings/)[How a classic specialty chemical market works: the synthetic dye industryChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/how-a-specialty-market-works-dyes/)[The laws of energy: conservation, entropy and efficiencyEnergy](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/energy/laws-of-energy/)

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/wool/links/index.md)