Where does all our wool go?

New Zealand wool is mainly exported as fibre, with around 80% of what we produce being sent overseas as greasy and clean wool fibre. The chart below shows the three major product categories for our wool exports based on value – wool fibre, carpets and yarn. With so much of our wool being exported as fibre, there is a big opportunity to add more value domestically.

We can break fibre exports down by micron category (fine, mid, strong) to see the composition of export volumes and values by the different types.

The volume of our wool exports reflects production, with 75% of wool fibre exports in 2024 being strong wool. Fine wool contributes a lot more by value, with it only accounting for around 10% by volume and 30% by value of our wool fibre exports.

The chart below shows the price per kg over time for the different wool types (adjusted for inflation).

China is the major export destination for our wool fibre and has been for a while. Our wool is processed in these countries into semi-finished or finished products (mainly carpets and rugs) for the local and export markets.

The volume sent to different markets has varied over time and China has gone from taking 57% of our wool fibre exports in 2015 to 37% in 2024.

India has been growing as a destination for our wool fibre and this has increased sharply over the last few years, with wool fibre exports to India increasing by around 40% in volume from 2023 to 2024.

The UK and EU countries are historical trading partners who continue take significant volumes of our wool fibre, with the UK steadily declining with the reduction in manufacturing there.

The chart below shows this change over time to our four major export markets.

We benefit from free trade agreements with most of the major export markets for our wool, with India and Nepal the only major markets for our wool exports that are not covered by a free trade agreement - read more about the trade environment for New Zealand wool.

There is no central point of data collection for domestic use of wool. Information available indicates that around 15,000 tonnes of wool (clean) is currently being used in domestic manufacturing to produce products for the local and export markets. This is dominated by yarn and carpet manufacturing and other core products like non-woven materials for bedding and furniture.

Discussions with domestic manufacturers have revealed that there is growing use of wool domestically and projected across different products. This includes adjacent products like acoustic panels and tiles, and novel products in development and close to commercialisation. This indicates strong growth in domestic manufacturing that could see domestic wool use more than double, helping to add value domestically and reduce our reliance on volatile export markets.

The projections are based on products already in-market or close to commercialisation. They are not reflective of all products and manufactures and are subject to a range of dependencies.

Wool Impact is committed to supporting our domestic manufacturers and brands to help realise these ambitious projections and we are working closely with them. We are developing resources and have dedicated resource to support those innovating with wool - find out more here about the resources and support available through our Navigator.