WOOL test numbers slumped dramatically year-on-year across Australia in July, with the drop in the number of bales tested in Western Australia the third biggest, behind South Australia and Victoria.
According to Australian Wool Testing Authority (AWTA) data for the first month of the new wool selling season, it tested wool from 87,173 bales across Australia, compared to 113,746 bales tested during July last year.
This was a reduction of 23.4 per cent in national testing, AWTA data indicated, with consistent reductions across all wool types - fleece tests were down 24.1pc, skirtings tests down 24.9pc and short wools carding tests down 17.6pc.
In WA, AWTA tested wool from 11,397 bales last month, compared to 15,060 during July last year, a testing reduction of 24.4pc year-on-year.
Only a 36.2pc reduction in South Australian testing and a 29.7pc reduction in Victorian testing were greater.
The average tested bale weight in WA during July was 178.9 kilograms, with only the average bale in Victoria weighing less, at 177.8kg - the maximum permitted bale weight is 204kg.
Average wool yield in WA in July improved almost 1pc year-on-year to 60.7pc, but this was only marginally better than a 60.2pc average wool yield recorded by SA tests and trailed average yields in every other wool-producing State.
The July national wool yield average was 65.1pc, according to AWTA.
Vegetable matter (VM) contamination in WA wools remained at 2.1pc, equal second lowest along with Victorian wools and with weather-washed sand-free Tasmanian wools testing as the lowest for VM at 1.1pc.
National average VM measured during July was 2.8pc, a 0.2pc increase on July last year.
The average WA wool fibre diameter for July also remained static year-on-year at 19.3 micron - the finest in Australia, with the national average fibre diameter being 20.5 micron - and average coefficient of variation in fibre diameter in WA was second lowest at 21.3pc.
According to AWTA's July test data, 61.2pc - down almost 1pc on July last year - of WA's wool clip was assessed as Superfine at 19.5 micron or less.
But for the first time since March, WA's wool clip was not the finest, with the New South Wales clip having 63.8pc assessed as Superfine wool during July.
The average WA wool tested in July however, was clearly the shortest in Australia at 84.4 millimetres in staple length - almost 3mm shorter than the national average.
It was also getting close to being tender, with tested WA wools in July recording an average staple strength of 32.1N/kt.
Although this was an improvement of almost 1pc on July last year, it was still the lowest average strength recorded in Australia in July and significantly trailed the national average of 36.8N/kt.
One bright spot for WA wools though was they tested second best for mid break behind Tasmanian wools.
The incidence of mid-break in WA wool staples was 42.7pc, down almost 2pc on July last year and well in front of the national average of 46.5pc.
Lower mid break percentage is an important consideration for raw wool customers because wool staples that break in half when stretched leave two very short lengths that have little commercial value.
