Australian wool production is expected to rise on the back of increased lambings and continued abundant seasonal conditions.
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And data from the Australian Wool Testing Authority (AWTA), underpinned by Australia's increasing flock and increased cuts per head, confirmed August test volumes are up 11 per cent year-on-year.
This is in line with Meat and Livestock Australia's projected flock increase to reach 78.8 million next year, a marked lift since 2020 when the flock was just 64 million.
According to the latest Rural Bank commodity overview, the increase in flock size is indicative of the confidence in the sheep meat industry and strong seasonal conditions driving higher lambing rates across Australia.
The latest estimate from the Australian Wool Production Forecasting Committee (AWPFC) also proves the flock is building, pre-empting an increase of 4.9pc compared to previous year.
As a result, an anticipated production of 340 million kilograms (Mkg) greasy is on the cards, a jump from 2021-22's 325 Mkg.
AWPFC chairman Stephen Hill said with good results reported from autumn lambing flocks and similar expected from spring lambing, the number of sheep shorn is expected to increase.
However, he said the average cut per head will remain similar.
"The number of sheep shorn is forecast to increase by 4.7pc to 75 million head," Mr Hill said.
"Yet favourable lambing and weaning percentages from 2021/22 have increased the proportion of younger sheep in the flock, which is expected to hold the average cut per head at 4.53kg greasy despite the excellent seasonal conditions."
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According to data from the June 2022 AWI/MLA wool and sheepmeat survey, more than 70pc of producers who participated expected their 2022 - 2023 fleece weights to be the same as 2021-22.
Mr Hill said the continued wet weather is anticipated to bring some challenges for producers in the months ahead.
"These range from internal parasites, flies to increased grass seeds and burr," Mr Hill said.
Current data shows NSW leads the total amount of wool shorn by state in 2021-22 with 113.3 Mkg, up an impressive 14.2pc compared to the 2020-21 season, with the forecast for 2022-23 sitting at 116.9pc, rising by 3.2pc.
But it was Queensland which recorded the largest growth, rising a massive 23pc in shorn wool production to cut 8.9 Mkg greasy year-on-year.
And although total amounts are lower than any other Australian state, the strong growth indicates the installation of predator-proof fencing is revamping the industry, with sheep numbers across central west Queensland almost tripling against the state average in recent years.
The five biggest sheep regions were spread across four different states.
Not surprisingly NSW came in on top with 24.7 million head, or 36pc.
On a region basis, the Glenelg Hopkins was the area with the most sheep in Australia, totalling 5,771,394 head - more than Queensland and Tasmania combined.
Following behind was the NSW Riverina (5,450,775 head) and central west (4,605,928) regions, WA's wheatbelt (4,003,834 head) and SA's south-east (3,902,768).
