Online fibre trading platform the Natural Fibre Exchange (NFX) has sold its six-millionth net kilogram of coarse wool since it launched 18 months ago.
This is slightly down from initial commitments of 6.5 million kilograms at its launch in May 2018.
The trading manager of the platform is Boston-based CRA International, which also runs Fonterra's Global Dairy Trade fortnightly online auction of dairy commodities.
NFX chairman Craig Hickson said the managers of the site were broadly happy with the trade figures "given the state of the market for strong wool and slipe wool".
He said while the exchange would obviously have liked sales volumes and prices to be higher, it had acted as a "price discovery mechanism" so it was a valuable tool in determining a true market price.
The exchange has held 35 fortnightly trading events.
According to its latest update, since its inception, eight sellers have offered lots, 10 buyers have submitted bids and nine buyers have won lots.
Total volume sold has totalled 6million net kg in 1736 lots.
Per trading event, the number of lots offered has ranged from 27 to 102, with nett kg ranging from 82,063kg to 378,611kg.
Across all trading events, 81% of the offered lots and 81% of the offered net kg have sold.
NFX shareholders include Wools of New Zealand, Alliance Group and Progressive Leathers Export.
Alliance chairman Murray Taggart said Alliance, which was "probably the single largest seller of wool in the world", had invested in the platform as it sought to secure efficient and transparent avenues to sell its wool.
Meanwhile, results from the PGG Wrightson Napier wool sales reflected rising prices for finer hogget fleece wools, with 3/5-inch wool at a clean price of $2.78/kg, up 13c per kilogram on the prior North Island sale.
Full fleece wool, however, was less in favour, with 35 micron wool attracting a price of $3.07/kg (down 13c) and 32 micron at $3.56, down 12c per kilogram.
