Checking the Status of Tests in the Raw Wool Laboratory

AWTA has a free service called “Test Status” transmissions which provide customers with regular updates on the progress of tests in the Laboratory. AWTA has a free service called “Test Status” transmissions which provide customers with regular updates...

Australian shorn wool production forecast of 340 Mkg greasy for 2022/23

The latest Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s forecast of shorn wool production for 2022/23 remains at 340 Mkg greasy, up 5.0% on the 324 Mkg greasy estimate for 2021/22. The latest Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s...

Australian shorn wool production continues a steady increase

The latest Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s forecast of shorn wool production for 2021/22 is 314 Mkg greasy, up 6.5% on 2020/21. Most key wool producing regions continue to enjoy favourable seasonal conditions which has boosted per...

Shorn wool production moves higher

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s second forecast of shorn wool production in 2021/22 is 310 Mkg greasy, up 5.2% on 2020/21. Widespread rainfall throughout many key wool producing regions augurs well for a good spring season. Both...

Australian shorn wool production stabilises as fleece weights rise

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s third forecast of shorn wool production for 2020/21 is 287 mkg greasy, up 1.1% on 2019/20. Favourable seasonal conditions in most wool producing regions, except Western Australia and Queensland,...

Australian shorn wool production stabilises in 2020/21

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s second forecast of shorn wool production in 2020/21 is 280 mkg greasy, down 1.1% on 2019/20. The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s second forecast of shorn wool production in...

Australian wool production to ease in 2014/15

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee's second forecast for 2014/15 has revised shorn wool production to 328 mkg, down 3.7% from 2013/14 levels. This decrease reflects the reduction in sheep numbers due to the high slaughter rates in...

Australian Wool Production Forecast Update – April 2013

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee has increased the forecast of shorn wool production for 2012/13 to 350mkg, 2.3% above the 342mkg produced in 2011/12. The increase is due to an expected 3.3% rise in the number of sheep shorn, partly...

Statistics

AWTA Raw Wool is the largest Wool Test House in the world, and Australia is the world's largest producer of apparel wool. Virtually all wool produced in Australia is now presale tested and AWTA Certificate Database contains all this objectively...

Australian shorn wool production forecast of 324 Mkg greasy in 2023/24

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee (AWPFC) has updated its forecast of shorn wool production for the 2023/24 season. The fourth forecast is for production of 324 million kilograms (Mkg) greasy, 1.0% lower than the 2022/23 estimate and...

PIC and the Australian Wool Traceability Hub (AWTH)

The potential for Foot-and-Mouth disease to have a devastating impact on the wool industry is well known and recently illustrated by outbreaks in South Africa and the United Kingdom. As such, planning for, and mitigating the risks associated with such...

Brochures and Handbooks

As part of its services to its clients and other interested parties, AWTA publishes brochures and various handbooks featuring information in regard to: AWTA's services Explanations/Reviews of current standard test methods Research & development of new...

AWTA Melbourne Laboratory - Closed Thursday 22 September 2022 - QE II Commemorative Public Holiday

AWTA Victorian based operations will be disrupted during Week 12 by the two proclaimed Public Holidays: Thursday, 22 September 2022 - QE II Commemorative National Public Holiday. Friday, 23 September 2022 – AFL Grand Final State Public Holiday. After...

Shorn wool production increases due to improved season

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s fourth forecast of shorn wool production in 2020/21 is 290 mkg greasy. This is a 2.1% increase on the 284 mkg estimate for 2019/20 as key wool growing regions experience favourable seasonal...

Drought continues to push Australian wool production lower

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s second forecast of shorn wool production in 2019/20 is 285 mkg greasy. This is a 5% decline on 2018/19 is due to lower sheep shorn numbers. The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s...

Drought continues to impact Australian wool production

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee forecasts that Australian shorn wool production for 2018/19 will be 298 mkg greasy. This is a 12.7% decline from the levels in 2017/18 and reflects the continuing drought conditions across large...

Australian wool production impacted by tough season

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s updated forecast of shorn wool production in 2018/19 is 305 mkg greasy, down by 10.8% from 2017/18. Continuing dry conditions in New South Wales, Queensland, northern Victoria, east Gippsland and...

Australian wool production forecast to fall in 2018/19 due to tough season

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee has updated its forecast for the 2018/19 season to 322 mkg greasy. This is a 5.7% decline on the Committee’s shorn wool production estimate of 341 mkg greasy for the 2017/18 season. The fall reflects...

Trends Within Micron Range

Pesticide Residue Analysis Test Request

Seasonal conditions hold back wool production

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee forecasts that Australian shorn wool production in 2017/18 will reach 338 mkg greasy. This is a 0.6% decline from the levels in 2016/17 and is largely the result of more difficult seasonal conditions...

Australian wool production to lift a little in 2017/18

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee forecasts that shorn wool production will lift in 2017/18 to 345 mkg greasy, up by 1.4% compared with 2016/17. The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee forecasts that shorn wool...

Australian Wool Production Higher

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee forecasts that Australian shorn wool production in 2016/17 will reach 339 mkg greasy. This 4.3% increase from 2015/16 is largely the result of excellent seasonal conditions in many areas resulting in...

Excellent seasonal conditions push Australian wool production higher in 2016/17

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee forecasts that shorn wool production will lift by 2.2% to 332 mkg greasy in 2016/17. The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee forecasts that shorn wool production will lift by 2.2% to 332...

Wool production unchanged in 2016/17

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee predicts that shorn wool production in 2016/17 will be at 325 mkg greasy, the same level as its revised estimate for the 2015/16 season. The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee predicts...

Wool production remains down in 2015/16

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee (AWPFC) confirmed its forecast of shorn wool production for the 2015/16 season at 322 million kilograms greasy, a 7.0% decline on the 2014/15 season, as predicted at its meeting in December. The...

Australian wool production to ease in 2015/16

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee forecasts that shorn wool production for 2015/16 will decline by 4.3% to 332 mkg. This reflects a 3.7% fall in shorn sheep numbers, a result of the continued high turn-off of sheep and lambs in...

AWTA EDI Service Change

For many years AWTA has provided a Virtual-Private Network (VPN) to connect customers with our EDI service so they can send and receive certificate data electronically. This is done via a VPN Client program (provided by CISCO systems) installed on the...

Australian wool production unchanged in 2014/15 and predicted to ease in 2015/16

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee forecasts shorn wool production for 2014/15 at 341 mkg, the same as the 2013/14 level. This reflects a small drop in shorn sheep numbers offset by higher average fleece weights. The Committee’s first...

Australian Wool Traceability Hub – 90% of Wool to be Traced by 2025

The Australian Wool Traceability Hub is an opportunity for the Australian wool industry to get ahead of the curve when it comes to Australian wool’s Emergency Animal Disease (EAD) response plan as well as end-to-end commercial traceability from farm to...

About AWTA Raw Wool

AWTA Raw Wool provides independent and objective wool certification services. AWTA Raw Wool's major services are sampling, testing and certifying the yield, fibre diameter, vegetable matter content, staple length and staple strength of greasy wool...

Change to AWTA Signatories for Reports and Certificates

The authorised signatories displayed on both the printed and electronic (PDF) versions of AWTA Raw Wool Test Certificates and Reports will change from 3 June 2023. Documents will display the signatures of both the Managing Director, Michael Jackson and...

Australian shorn wool production continues a moderate increase

The latest Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s forecast of shorn wool production for 2022/23 is 328 Mkg greasy, up 1.3% on 2021/22. Most key wool producing regions experienced a favourable summer season, a reasonable autumn and are...

AWTA EDI Network Upgrade

AWTA Ltd is required to upgrade the AWTM EDI network in order to keep systems up-to-date with current software and security standards. Implementation of this update is scheduled for Sunday, 5 March 2023. Wool Industry software providers have been...

Key Test Data Summary for August 2021

The monthly comparisons of Total Lots, Bales and Weight for August 2021 compared with the same period last season are: +36.8%, +39.0% and +38.5% respectively. Note that testing volumes for August 2020 last year were somewhat affected by COVID...

Fleece Measurement

Samples of fleece wool that are taken from individual sheep are submitted by sheep breeders and wool growers for the routine measurement of Fibre Diameter (micron) using a Laserscan instrument. This instrument provides other data in conjunction with...

Key Test Data Summary for June 2021

The monthly comparisons of Total Lots, Bales and Weight for June 2021 compared with the same period last season are: +40.5%, +44.3% and +43.7% respectively. Note that testing volumes for June 2020 last year were barely affected by COVID restrictions...

Improved seasonal conditions but low sheep numbers limit recovery in shorn wool production

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s fourth forecast of shorn wool production in 2019/20 is 281 mkg greasy. This is a 6.3% decline on the 300 mkg estimate for 2018/19 as lowsheep numbers and the enduring impact of drought continue to...

Impact of the recent bushfires on Australian wool production

The devastating effect of the recent fires in Australia on many people’s lives, homes, infrastructure, livelihoods and wildlife has been widely reported. The AWPFC expects the impact of the fires on shorn wool production to be approximately 112,000...

Australian wool production falls as dry conditions continue

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee’s third forecast of shorn wool production in 2019/20 is 272 mkg greasy. This is a 9.2% decline on 2018/19 that is attributable to lower sheep shorn numbers and lighter average fleece weights due to...

Testing the Wool Clip - Chinese

Fleece Measurement Service Request (Yield, Micron, L&S, Colour)

Electronic Services

AWTA offers a wide range of online and electronic services including: Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) TOPMARK TM Benchmarking Combined Certificates & Objectively Matched Lots (OMLs) Electronic Certificates including Chinese translations Online...

Update on Fibre Curvature Measurement

Recently, AWTA Ltd’s Raw Wool Laboratories completed a biennial re calibration of all LASERSCAN, OFDA and Airflow instruments as required by the International Wool Textile Organisation, Interwoollabs and NATA as part of part of our ongoing...

Wool comfort revolution now on sale to global garment makers

Blue-sky research aimed at guaranteeing the comfort of wool to the consumer is now a commercial reality, with the Australian Wool Testing Authority (AWTA) today launching the Wool ComfortMeter and Wool HandleMeter. Developed by Australia’s Cooperative...

Staple Length & Strength

One of the most important characteristics for determining the value of greasy wool is the average fibre length that will be achieved when the wool has been processed or combed into wool top. This length is known as the Hauteur (fibre length in the Wool...

Australian wool production expected to ease slightly in 2013/14

The Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee has maintained its estimate of shorn wool production for 2012/13 at 350mkg. The Committee's second forecast of 2013/14 production remains unchanged at 345mkg, down 1.4 per cent from the 2012/13...

Accreditation

AWTA has a strong international reputation for Technical Excellence. AWTA submits its technical performance to external monitoring through an annual publication of Independent Laboratories Round Trials (ILRT) group performance to the International Wool...