by Chris Holland Business Reporter Wool supplies are set to run out before the end of the Bradford auction season.

The fibre is back in demand, leading to a surge in prices over the past year as processors buy up stocks to meet rising orders.

The Bradford-based British Wool Marketing Board says only about eight million kilos of the annual clip of about 30 million kilos is available for auction between now and the end of the selling season in June.

It is likely that BWMB, a statutory board which buys the entire UK wool clip, will cancel the last two auctions of the season.

Over the past seven months the Bradford auctions have seen a minimum of 87 per cent of wool sold, with some selling out. Since last February the average price has soared from 84p a kilo to 103p a kilo.

Ian Hartley, BWMB chief executive, said the price increase was needed to help sheep farmers who had struggled in recent years to cover their costs due to lower auction prices.

He said: “The price rise is good for farmers who have barely been covering the cost of shearing. It is a reflection of a renewed interest in wool after processors de-stocked during the credit crunch.”

Wool merchant Martin Curtis said his firm had been taking advantage of low interest rates to stockpile wool. Mr Curtis is joint managing director of Cottingley-based Curtis Wool, which includes Haworth Scouring in Bradford where about 80 per cent of British wool is processed.

He said: “There is simply not enough wool to offer between now and the new 2010-11 season and it will be September before the larger offerings of wool appear at auction. Merchants with insufficient stock are being forced to pay higher prices. There is absolutely no chance of them falling back to prices prevailing six months ago.

“We have sufficient stock to meet all our commitments but prices for future business will inevitably be at higher levels.”

Meanwhile, The Prince of Wales has stepped in to promote wool’s sustainable and natural features – and help farmers earn better returns from rearing sheep for fleeces. Prince Charles has launched The Wool Project to promote the fibre among textile buyers, retailers and consumers.

It is backed by the British Wool Marketing Board and wool bodies in Australia and New Zealand, together with processors and manufacturers and retailers.

The campaign will include Wool Week in September during which a series of promotional activities will be held to highlight the benefits of wool.

The Prince said: “The future of the fibre was looking very bleak indeed. The sad truth is that around the world farmers are leaving sheep production because the price they get for their wool is below the costs of actually shearing it.

“The wool industry is truly international and I am glad that the Wool Project is now a partnership that includes the wool-growing organisations of Australia, Britain and New Zealand.”

Prince Charles encouraged people to think twice about “the seemingly trivial decision about whether to buy a wool carpet or its man-made alternative, or the decision to buy a wool coat as opposed to a polyester jacket”.

Ian Hartley said BWMB's Life Cycle Analysis report highlighted the fact that wool had far less environmental impact than either nylon or polypropylene and was something which the industry should exploit.

He said: “Wool clearly needs to be better understood, regardless of its brand or origin. This is an excellent opportunity for wool and we are delighted about it.”

Martin Curtis, who attended the launch, said: “This is a welcome initiative and will help to make people aware that wool, the original free-range product, with its natural attributes and green credentials has a great future and Bradford has a very important part to play.”