Coronavirus: Shepherd scraps wool harvest due to price slump

Stuart Fletcher threw his fleeces on a compost heap

A shepherd has been forced to throw his harvest on to a compost heap after the price of wool fell due to the pandemic.

Stuart Fletcher, from Wadhurst in East Sussex, said the fleeces were worth less than the costs of transporting them to a depot in Ashford, Kent.

He said: "It's a very emotive issue. We have this brilliant product and we are essentially wasting it."

British Wool said the price of wool has fallen by 50% as markets closed around the world.

"Because the markets are closed, we have been unable to sell the farmers' wool on the global market for that three month period," said British Wool's Graham Clark.

"February to May is the busiest selling period for us, so it couldn't have happened at a worse time."

'A tragedy'

Fleeces shorn from Mr Fletcher's flock are usually sold to international markets by British Wool.

Ten years ago he was paid about £5 per fleece, but the price has "steadily declined" down to about 20 or 30p each this year, he said.

"By the time we have packed it up, put it in a trailer and driven it to [the British Wool depot] it's actually costing me money in diesel and time," Mr Fletcher said.

"It's a tragedy. There are farmers even burning it."

Mr Fletcher said some farmers were burning this year's wool harvest

"You put your heart and soul into looking after animals," he said. "They are growing us this fantastic product and we're wasting it."

Mr Fletcher said he believes the solution lies in using more wool "at home in this country". "We need to be making better use of our natural resources," he said.

Phil Stocker, of the National Sheep Association, said it was an issue affecting farmers across the country.

"Wool production at the moment is costing sheep farmers money," he said.

The solution would be to treat wool as a "quality, sustainable, renewable, fantastic fibre, rather than just a global commodity that is traded on a world market," Mr Stocker added.