British Wool has announced it will be making payments worth £8.4m to its members for the 2021 clip, an increase to an overall average of 36.4p/kg.
This 135% rise is down to improved auction prices for wool over the last 12 months, the co-op said, alongside a push to reduce operational costs.
Returns for the 2021 clip will be around 40p per kg for many core grades, around 30p per kg for Blackface wool and around 15p per kg for Welsh and Swaledale.
In all cases, this represents a significant improvement on 2020 prices due to sales being badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some speciality types such as Herdwick and Bluefaced Leicester will receive significantly higher returns, British Wool said.
Herdwick wool will return 80p per kg and Bluefaced Leicester will return £5.50 per kg. An additional £1 per kg is also being paid out on most types of organic certified wool.
Andrew Hogley, CEO of the Bradford-based cooperative, said the prices represented a huge recovery since the difficulties of 2020.
“We are optimistic that the strong demand we have seen will be sustained, that the recovery in the wool market will continue and that this will result in further price improvement for the 2022 wool clip."
Mr Hogley confirmed that the free haulage offer introduced last year will continue this year.
A charge of £5.15 per wool sheet is usually made for deliveries to haulier depots and authorised collection sites.
Other improvements introduced in 2021 which will continue include the lower threshold for the volume premium payment.
And clips of 2,000kg or more will still receive an additional 4p per kg with further incremental increases for those delivering larger volumes.
Mr Hogley said: "Now more than ever, it is crucial that farmers work together and market their wool through British Wool so that together, we can maximise returns for this year’s clip and beyond.”
