CHINA is expected to snap up most of the 14 000 bales of wool in stock that will be auctioned tomorrow when the wool season opens in Port Elizabeth.
China imported 60% more raw wool from SA in volume terms during 2009-10 than in the previous season - reinforcing its status as SA's largest country-to-country trading partner.
According to figures from Cape Wools SA, an industry association, in the 2009-10 season China accounted for 57,5% of SA's wool exports in value terms, up from 45,6% the previous season.
Due to higher wool prices in the past season, the value of SA's shipments to China, including Hong Kong, increased almost 35% to R957,5m.
The second-largest importer was the Czech Republic, representing 12,4% of the total export value, or R205,8m.
The Czech Republic took over second place from Italy, now SA's third-largest wool customer with 10% of exports in value terms. Other major importers were India (9,8%), Germany (3,4%), the UK (1,8%), France (1,5%), Mauritius (1%) and South Korea (1%), Cape Wools SA said.
Revenue from wool exports totalled R1,6bn in the 2009-10 season, representing an increase of 25% on the previous season, the association said.
The wool season this year opens amid renewed uncertainty about the world economy's ability to recover from recession, as well as financial stability in the eurozone and the sustainability of the strong economic growth in China, I-Net Bridge reported.
This uncertainty was causing wool textile mills to be cautious, and hold very little stock.
Currency movements will also play a role in the wool market.
The rand has been stronger against the dollar and could exert downward pressure on prices should it remain at these high levels.
Greg Weller, executive director of Wool Producers Australia, said last week that international buyers were looking to New Zealand and SA for extra supplies of unmulesed wool, as Australia was still not able to provide the volume required by buyers.
Australia remains the largest supplier of apparel wool to the world textile market, while SA is the fifth-largest.
SA, like Australia, produces mainly apparel wool, while the bulk of the production of other major producers, like New Zealand and Argentina, is coarse wool, used for the production of carpets and blankets.
The Eastern Cape is SA's largest wool-producing region with 25,1% of the national clip, followed by the Free State (24,1%), according to the Department of Agriculture.
