AWN 
Three Victorian AWN clients are revelling in skyrocketing prices for elite ultrafine and superfine wool with prices exceeding 8000c/kg.
The top price in the nation last week went to the Mibus family’s Glenara Merino Stud at Dunkeld when a line of 13.7 micron wool was sold for 8000c/kg. Paul Reid, and his father Bill, from Bairnsdale certainly had their expectations exceeded when a line of 13.4 micron wool attracted 6600c/kg and the season opened on a high note when an ultrafine offering from Leon Phillips ‘Rosari’ Wodonga was knocked down for 8100c/kg.
AWN Victorian manager Kelvin Shelley couldn’t be happier for the company’s clients.
“It is a credit to these growers, who have been with AWN since the company’s inception. They’ve been committed to producing these finer wools when many have gone to broader types. They have stuck with it through years of market volatility and are now being rewarded for the quality product they are delivering,’’ he said.’’
“The Mibus’ have very good sheep with high quality wools. This wool will be processed in Europe for a specialty order. The market is pushing very hard for these types of wools and we haven’t seen this in a long time.”
Glenara stud principal Trevor Mibus is a fourth-generation superfine woolgrower with the property where the superfines are grown having been in the family since 1920.
Mr Mibus said the 8000c/kg was well beyond their best expectations.
“We were hoping for about 5500 cents as there had been wool selling for around that mark and up to 6000 cents. It is well above what we have sold for a while. I went back 10 years and couldn’t find anything near that. In 2012 we made $20/kg and in 2019 we sold four bales for $18-$19/kg,’’ he said.
“There are obviously orders about for this type of wool. That really fine wool in the 13-14 micron range is very fickle. It is often only a once-a-year order and sometimes you are waiting for an order. It’s not reliable but if an order comes through you have to be ready to jump.’’
Mr Mibus runs 7500 sheep on 1025 acres with the stud founded by his father Merv in 1953.
He said the elite wool had been grown on an area of native pasture.
“Our best one-and-a-half-year-olds go onto this pasture which doesn’t change much and allows us to grow sound, clean wools. Our average micron is 16.2 but I have a few clients who want these finer types,’’ he said.
Bairnsdale woolgrower Paul Reid was also pleasantly surprised by the 6600c/kg he received for his 13.4 micron offering.
“We’re very happy. We know the ultrafines are hot at the moment but this certainly exceeded our expectations,’’ he said.
“2018 had been our best year to date. We had a long battle with drought from the end of 2016 to 2019 and the prices in 2018 gave us a boost to stick with this. This wool came off paddock–grown sheep and our main line at 14.2 micron attracted 4100c/kg.
“We are certainly extremely happy with these prices.’’
Mr Shelley said these woolgrowers should be congratulated and thoroughly deserved the returns they received for their wool.
“We don’t see the ultrafine end of the business every week or even every year, but the last six months have seen very attractive prices with interest coming from Europe and China,’’ he said.
“It is good to see them being rewarded for the support and time they put into breeding these bloodlines and the wools they produce.
“AWN has always taken pride in what we can do for woolgrowers and I think the proof is in the pudding here. In the first seven sales of the season, we have five of the seven top national prices and we are proud to be able to help our clients reach these heights.’’
