Wool Preparation, Testing and Marketing

About 85% of wool sold in Australia is classified either as combing wool or combing oddments, with the remainder being carding wool (Chapters 2 and 26). Combing wools have staple lengths longer than 35 mm and are not tender, cotted or matted. Non-combing wools or those only suitable for carbonizing, particularly short wools having high vegetable matter (VM) content, are classified as carding types. About 60% of Merino wool sold at auction are fleece wools, about 20% are pieces, skirtings and bellies and 20% are locks, crutchings, stains, lambs and cast lines (Lunney, 1985; AWEX, 2008a). The first two groups are largely combing types, although some types, e.g. tender fleeces or matted, burry bellies, are relegated to carding types. The distribution of Merino wool sold first hand at auction by processing system, VM content and mean fibre diameter is shown in Table 25.1. In practice, not all wools are processed by the allocated system. Some processors will choose not to comb heavy-fault wool, for example, and these will be carbonised by woollen processors. Broken top may also be transferred to the woollen system. Both by-products and wastes from worsted processing (such as noils and card wastes) are used as raw material for woollen processing. Figure 25.1 shows the relationship between woollen and worsted processing and typical values for losses and by-product obtained. For every 1 kg of clean wool fibre that enters worsted processing as greasy wool, less than 850 g emerges as yarn. The rest either is non-recoverable (such as card fly) or is by-product used in woollen processing (about 100g per 1 kg of clean wool fibre processed).