Commodity Origins

How much wool does New Zealand produce and export?

New Zealand is the 3rd largest producer of wool: 124,951 tonnes in 2024, 7.4% of the world's 1.7 million tonnes (FAOSTAT). It is the 2nd largest exporter by value: $287.8 million in 2024, 10% of world exports of greasy and scoured wool (HS 5101) (CEPII BACI). Its biggest customer is China, which takes 41% of its wool exports by value.

All about wool · All about New Zealand · Wool price history

New Zealand's wool production

New Zealand wool production, 2024
World rankProduction (tonnes)Share of worldTen-year growthYear
3124,951 tonnes7.4%-2% a year2024

FAOSTAT Crops and livestock products (QCL), 2024. World total is the sum of reporting countries.

New Zealand wool production monthly prices, tonnes, Jan 1961 to Jan 2024Line chart of new zealand wool production monthly prices in tonnes from Jan 1961 to Jan 2024: New Zealand wool production from 266,300 to 124,951, peaking at 380,700.0100,000200,000300,000400,000196519701975198019851990199520002005201020152020tonnes
New Zealand wool production

Share of world output over time

New Zealand's share of world wool production in selected years
19902000201020202024
9.4%11%9%8.5%7.4%

Average annual share by decade: 1960s 11%, 1970s 12%, 1980s 12%, 1990s 11%, 2000s 10%, 2010s 8%, 2020s 7.8%. See the concentration-over-time report.

New Zealand's wool exports

New Zealand exports of Wool, not carded or combed, 2024
World rankExport valueShare of world exportsQuantity (tonnes)Average value per tonneYear
2$287.8 million10%93,377 t$3,0832024

CEPII BACI international trade database (HS22, V202601), HS 5101 (Wool, not carded or combed).

Where New Zealand's wool goes

Largest destinations of New Zealand's wool exports, 2024
DestinationValueShare of New Zealand's exports
China$118M41%
India$48M17%
Italy$20M6.9%
United Kingdom$15M5.2%
Lithuania$14M4.8%

Largest five destinations of 1,007 exporter-importer pairs BACI reports for 2024. See trade flows.

The wool price New Zealand sells into

The benchmark price, Wool, fine 19 micron, Australian Wool Exchange spot, was 1,595¢/kg in August 2026, up 60% over twelve months. A single country's export price can differ from the benchmark: see trade price against benchmark. Monthly averages lag the market and are not investment advice. Wool price history.

Cite as: Commodity Origins, "New Zealand wool: production, exports and prices", https://commodityorigins.com/countries/NZL/wool/ (CC BY 4.0). Rankings count only countries reporting to the sources named; this page is shown only for top-five producers or exporters with at least 3% of the world total. Report an issue with this page.