According to APAG Extremadura Asaja, Extremadura sheep farmers will assume losses of more than 17 million euros

APAG Extremadura Asaja has denounced the serious crisis situation that the Extremaduran sheep sector is going through in relation to sheep wool, which will mean losses for the region’s farmers of over 17 million euros.

Juan Metidieri, president of Apag Extremadura Asaja, stated that “wool has gone from being a source of income in Extremadura to being an uncomfortable waste“This animal by-product has no outlet in the Extremaduran market due to lack of demand. There are no known contracts in this regard and buyers are suggesting that they withdraw it at zero cost.

He shearing cost of a sheep currently ranges between 1.70 and 1.75 euros per unit. In Extremadura there is a census of 2,612,000 heads of sheep (not counting the lambs), something that translates into around 4.5 million euros in shearing costs. Just five years ago, the shearing cost per unit was around 2.20 euros on average. This means that 12.6 million euros have not been obtained in this campaign, added to the expenses of the fight carried out by the rancher, the losses amount to a whopping more than 17 million euros mentioned previously, according to There is information about the agricultural organization.

Given this situation for the Extremaduran sheep sector, from Apag Extremadura Asaja They ask that the wool not be given away. “We know that the management of wool is complex and that it cannot be buried or incinerated, but rather it must be taken to so-called clean points that do not currently exist. Therefore, we ask the administrations to enable these clean points as a measure to give way to this animal by-product.

Metidieri has put as example the autonomous community of Aragon, which has committed to collecting the wool and taking it to authorized clean points.

Another measure is to encourage research for new uses of wool. “Only in this way can we use this by-product to introduce it into a real circular economy,” Metidieri highlighted.

Metidieri considers that wool “is a sustainable product and a true ecological treasurebut we cannot allow these price fluctuations in the markets.” In this sense, it is clear that the closure of China’s borders is affecting the collapse of this market.