These are new opportunities for domestic wool utilization

(Photo: AM/Tibor Vermes)

During the meeting, they reviewed the situation of alternative uses of wool, such as organic fertilizer pellet production or production of insulation materials for the construction industry, as well as the related domestic development plans and tasks in order to increase the demand for Hungarian wool.

Currently, approximately 2.5 thousand tons of wool are produced in Hungary annually, which is not a significant amount in European terms

However, as a result of the pandemic, the traditional export sales opportunities for raw wool have been significantly reduced. It is typical of the demand conditions of foreign markets that there is only a demand for high-quality merino wool, but only a small part of the wool of the domestic sheep flock can be classified in this category. The producers mainly have wool of mixed quality available from mixed herds. Today, however, the cost of shearing and then storage or destruction is a significant burden for farmers. In addition, Hungarian wool – due to its particularly good tensile strength – can be used after proper cleaning and sorting, among other things, in the construction industry or without cleaning as an excellent pelleted organic fertilizer that helps retain water and improves soil condition. The aim of the Ministry of Agriculture is to bring together institutional, professional and market players in order to jointly map the possibilities of alternative uses of wool and, based on international examples, to develop economically viable solutions adapted to domestic conditions. The planned alternative solutions can open up the possibility of continuous wool sales for sheep farms, contributing to the development of the domestic wool industry and a more stable market position of agricultural players.

AM