过去一年英国羊毛价格持续上涨。12月2日布拉德福德每月两次拍卖中，净羊毛均价达到近十年高点1.82英镑（2.43美元）/公斤，较9月上涨26%，上一次达到类似水平是在2016年；但长期走势仍显著下滑，按今日价格计1952年均价为17.50英镑/公斤，而2022年仅为0.73英镑/公斤。
此轮反弹主要由“需求反弹+供给收缩”驱动，并叠加偏好变化。随着全球酒店业在疫情后复苏，地毯与交通座椅内饰需求上升，拍卖中超过一半的羊毛流向酒店、邮轮和赌场；约十分之一的英国羊毛将用于床垫和枕头，其中一部分出口日本制作被褥，同时对塑料基面料的反感强化了对羊毛等天然材料的偏好。
即便涨价，农户仍难盈利：过去五年剪毛成本常高于售毛收入，例如一位萨塞克斯农户去年剪毛花1.8万英镑、卖毛仅得1.1万英镑，并将羊群缩减五分之一。补贴也在收紧：英格兰农户在2020年前平均每年可获约2.8万英镑欧盟“基本支付”，此后逐步退出，2025年多数农场上限为7200英镑、2026年降至600英镑、2027年彻底取消；英格兰羊群去年减少3.8%，业内估算五年内羊毛供给缩减近四分之一，外加2018年严冬导致羊毛易断与近期晴干天气提升白度与品质，共同推高价格。
British wool prices have risen over the past year. At the twice‑monthly Bradford auction on December 2, the average price of clean wool hit a near‑decade high of £1.82 ($2.43) per kilogram, up 26% since September and last seen around 2016; yet the long trend remains sharply down, from £17.50 per kilogram in 1952 (in today’s prices) to just 73p in 2022.
The uptick is driven mainly by “pent‑up demand plus shrinking supply,” reinforced by shifting preferences. As global hospitality rebounds after the pandemic, demand for carpets and transport upholstery is up, with over half of auctioned wool going to hotels, cruise ships and casinos; roughly a tenth of Britain’s clip will be used for mattresses and pillows, some shipped to Japan for futons, while sustainability concerns push buyers toward natural fibres.
Even with higher prices, farm economics stay weak: for five years shearing has often cost more than wool revenues—for example, one Sussex farmer paid £18,000 to shear last year and earned £11,000, then cut his flock by a fifth. Subsidies are also falling—from an average of about £28,000 a year before 2020 under the EU basic payment scheme to a £7,200 cap for most farms in 2025, £600 from 2026, and removal in 2027—alongside a 3.8% drop in England’s flock last year and an estimated near‑quarter fall in wool supply over five years, with weather effects (poor 2018 fibre strength versus recent sunny, dry conditions improving quality) adding upward pressure.
Source: What’s behind the revival in the price of British wool
Subtitle: Partly, happier sheep—but mostly pent-up demand and reduced supply
Dateline: 12月 11, 2025 06:00 上午