British Wool Marketing Board keen to meet wool producers at The Royal Highland Show
Wool producers will have the chance to meet British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB) Board members and staff to discuss both wool prices and the work of the BWMB at the upcoming Royal Highland Show.
For many farmers BWMB is simply the organisation that pays them for their wool, but there is much more to the Board’s work than that
Wool producers will have the chance to meet British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB) Board members and staff to discuss both wool prices and the work of the BWMB at the upcoming Royal Highland Show.
BWMB is active at every stage in the wool supply chain and is the only central marketing board still in operation in the UK, making it a truly unique organisation in the agricultural sector, explains Hugh Blythe, BWMB Vice Chairman and Board Member for Southern Scotland, who will be present at the event.
“For many farmers BWMB is simply the organisation that pays them for their wool. But there is much more to the Board’s work than that. BWMB runs wool depots across the UK, collecting wool from sheep farmers and grading it according to type and quality before selling it on producers’ behalf at regular auctions to wool merchants and end users across the globe.
From shearer training to the Campaign for Wool, BWMB is active at every level of the wool industry and through its work is helping improve both the quality of fleeces being delivered to depots and the demand for British wool, explains Mr Blythe.
“Producers wanting to maximise the value of their fleeces should ensure they deliver them to BWMB depots in the best possible condition and that starts with clean and efficient shearing.
The last 12 months has seen demand for British wool increase once again and as a result prices achieved at BWMB wool auctions have also increased, he adds.
“While producers will naturally always want to see higher wool prices, the levels we’ve seen wool trading at in the last year are very welcome and show signs of continuing for the coming season.
“Demand from all our major trading partners is still strong and reducing sheep numbers across the world means there is less wool to meet this demand. The effect of this strong market is the average price of wool achieved by your Board is significantly higher than last year (average 34%) with the average 2014 guide wool clip value for Cheviots wool, for example, being £1.37 / kg and Mule types being £1.25 / kg.’’
“All wool producers are welcome to visit the BWMB stand and find out more about what BWMB does with their wool and how it operates to promote wool as a modern, versatile fibre.
“There are many producers who don’t know much about what happens to their wool once it has been delivered to the BWMB depot. However, taking time to understand more about the wool industry can help producers earn more from their clip as much of what happens on-farm can impact on wool values at auction.”
Key to maximising wool prices for farmers is BWMB’s competitive auction system, he adds. “There really is no better way to maximise the value of the clip and the auction is a time-proven method of attaining the best price possible for all manner of farm commodities.”
