Woolen is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast to worsted yarn, in which the fibers are combed to lie parallel rather than carded, producing a hard, strong yarn. Industrial uses of wool include sheets of bonded coarse wool used for thermal and acoustic insulation in home construction, as well pads for soaking up oil spills

 Woolen textile in India has come to a prodigious position after the economic liberalization in India in the 1990. There are more than 50 woolen mills in the country.  India is the seventh-largest producer of wool and accounts for nearly 2 per cent of total world production. India has the third largest sheep population in the world with 71 million sheep. The annual wool production is in the range of 43-46 million kg. The woolen sector plays an important role in linking the rural economy with the manufacturing industry, represented by small, medium and large scale units. The main wool producing states of India are Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh Uttaranchal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Haryana. Punjab alone accounts for 40% woolen units, while Haryana accounts for 27%, Rajasthan for 10%, and the rest of the states account for the remaining 23%.

Export markets

The USA, CIS, East European countries, Canada, Australia, Germany, Denmark, France, Belgium, Netherlands, West Asian countries are major buyers of Indian woollens. The volume and direction of trade keeps on fluctuating with time.

Woollen Fabrics

Demand : Past & Future

Year               mn mtr

2001-02           65.00

2002-03           66.00

2003-04           66.00

2004-05           66.00

2005-06           66.60

2006-07           67.25

2007-08           68.05

2008-09           68.25

2009-10           67.20

2010-11           69.70

2011-12           72.29

2012-13           73.74

2013-14           75.21

2014-15           76.71

2019-20           84.61

Leading Players (Fabrics)

Company         Share (%)

Raymond             75-80

Digjam                   5-10

Birla VXL                < 5

Shri Dinesh Mills       

National Textile         

Woolen Knitted Hosiery

Demand : Past & Future

2001-02           14.00

2002-03           13.00

2003-04           13.00

2004-05           13.00

2005-06           13.07

2006-07           13.20

2007-08           13.40

2008-09           13.65

2009-10           14.00

2010-11           14.15

2011-12           14.20

2012-13           14.56

2013-14           14.92

2014-15           15.29

2019-20           17.30

Market Growth Rates (%)

                                    WF       WKH

1990-91-1996-97        2.7         6.3

1996-97-2001-02        1.6         3.1

2001-02-2006-07        0.7        -0.7

2006-07-2011-12        1.5         1.5

2011-12-2016-17        2.0         2.5

Sensitivity Coefficient

Woollen Fabrics          4.2%

Woollen Hosiery         4.3%