Business
Elders : Merino RWS volume and premiums
Elders : Merino RWS volume and
About this update from Elders Limited
Key points: While the supply of RWS Merino wool has picked up slightly in Australia, in the bigger picture it appears to be relatively steady. RWS premiums have been volatile when viewed across the past five seasons RWS premiums have recovered from their low levels of 2023-2024. If they return to those low levels supply will fall. A bright spot in the greasy wool market during recent years has been premiums paid for RWS accredited wool, although these premiums have waxed, then waned and waxed again. This article takes a look at Merino premiums for RWS since 2021. The RWS, developed by the Textile Exchange , has been around for a while. RWS is changing to the Materials Matter Standard at the end of 2026. It was in late 2021, after Cape Wools began publishing weekly premiums for RWS that premiums took off in the Australian greasy wool market. Premiums at the time, in 2022, were being paid on wool that was accredited to RWS regardless of quality. This is one aspect of RWS which sometimes is missed. It is an animal welfare standard, not a wool quality standard.