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Related Keywords: New Zealand wool, sheep population in new Zealand, wool importers in china, wool markets, wool prices

Wool prices in New Zealand held firm at auction this week although buyers from China were absent due to the Lunar New Year holidays. China is country's largest export market. 35-micron wool price, a benchmark for crossbred wool used for carpets and accounting for the majority of New Zealand's production, rose to NZ$5.81 a kg at combined North and South Island wool auctions, from NZ$5.74 a kg last week. This also implies a 14% increase over the year. About 83% of the 12,024 bales of wool on offer were sold.

Related Keywords: impact of TPP, largest spinner of merino possum blends, New Zealand wool, tariff saving, textile sector export, to be modest, TPP tariff reductions, Wingate based textile manufacturer, Woolyarns, worth million annually

New Zealand's wool, leather and textile sectors export $621 million worth of products annually. They face $4 million worth of tariff savings when the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) tariff reductions have fully kicked in. All tariffs on those sector's exports would be eliminated in the 12 TPP countries once the deal was fully implemented.

Related Keywords: crossbred wool, International Wool Textile Organization, low wool prices, national clip to decline, New Zealand wool, reduction in national sheep flock, smallest annual wool clip in six years, upcoming season, wool production, world largest exporter

New Zealand, the world's largest exporter of crossbred wool, is heading for its smallest annual wool clip in six years. The national clip is likely to see further decline in the upcoming season starting in July, falling to around 810,000 bales, according to Christchurch-based New Zealand Wool Services International, a unit of Australia's Lempriere and the nation's largest wool scourer and exporter.

It is reflecting the lowest sheep flock in more than 70 years, dry conditions and an increased focus on meat producing breeds of sheep.