Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa and China are the major wool producing regions in the world. Among them, Australia is the largest wool producing country, and 98% of the output is used for export, while China is the world's largest wool textile producer and consumer, and 60% of the wool imported into China comes from Australia.

The first choice of major brand manufacturers in the world is Australian merino wool, while wool from other origins is mostly used in hand-woven products, wool home textile products, and wool carpets. This article will introduce the characteristics of the major wool producing areas.

1. Australia

Australia is the place with the best wool quality in the world, with a favorable geographical environment and numerous pastures. The output and export volume of sheepskin and wool rank first in the world. Australian wool is mainly produced by Merino sheep and crossbred Merino sheep. Among them, New South Wales has the most wool sheep, followed by Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia.

Merino wool, slender, high-quality wool, soft curly, uniform length, white and bright, good elasticity and strength, fireproof and antistatic, heat insulation and noise isolation. In Australia, fine wool refers to merino wool with a fiber diameter of 19.6 to 20.5 μm, and ultrafine wool is below 19.5 μm. 87% of Australian wool is sheared less than 24μm, and 30% is sheared less than 19μm, which is specially used to produce the highest quality wool clothing.

2. New Zealand

New Zealand is the world's second largest wool producer, and its wool quilts and wool blankets are world-renowned. In New Zealand, Merino sheep could not adapt to the newly developed wetter grasslands in the North Island, and were gradually replaced by Romney sheep with better growth and performance. The South Island is rich in drier grasses. Island farmers cross-bred Merino sheep with British Leicester sheep, Lincoln sheep or Romney sheep to create and breed New Zealand semi-pure sheep.

The dominant Romney sheep is currently a unique dual-purpose sheep breed, producing coarse wool with good strength, medium loft, and the wool it produces is the best wool for carpets in the world.

3. China

China is the world's third largest wool producer and the world's largest sheep producer. Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and other places are the main producing areas of wool in China. Sheep breeds are Mongolian sheep, Tibetan sheep and Kazakh sheep.

The quality of wool produced in China is rough, and it is a mixed type of wool. The wool is characterized by relatively thick and short. The definition of fine hair in China is below 25μm. Fine hair is mainly used for clothing, while coarse hair is used for furniture and carpets.

4. Argentina

Argentina's wool-producing area is in the Pampas grasslands in its eastern and central parts, and is a well-known agricultural and pastoral area. Argentine sheep breeds include Corrida, Merino, Lincoln, Romney, and Crela.

The semi-fine wool produced by Kaoli on behalf of the sheep has an average fineness of 23-28.9μm. The average fineness of Merino sheep is 20-22.9 μm. The average fineness of coarse wool produced by Lincoln sheep and Kerila sheep is 36 μm. The average fineness of semi-fine wool produced by Romney sheep is 29-35.9μm.

5. South Africa

South Africa is the largest sheep-raising country in Africa, and the breed is mainly sheep. Most of South Africa has a savanna climate, the eastern coast has a tropical monsoon climate, and the Cape Town Plains in the southwest have a Mediterranean climate. The summer in South Africa is from December to February, and the winter is from June to August. The terrain is generally high, so there is no severe cold in winter, no extreme heat in summer, and sufficient sunshine. Wool is produced in most of South Africa, and more than 90% of wool is exported.

Among them, Merino wool has the largest output, with an average worsted degree of less than 24μm. The main breeding areas are in the Eastern and Northern Cape inland plateau, Free State and Mapumalanga Province. In addition, South Africa has also introduced Karakul sheep known as the "black gem", which is mainly distributed in the dry areas of the northwest, and has now become one of the world's main suppliers of Karakul lamb skins. The mohair production in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa ranks first in the world, accounting for about 60% of the world's production.