SECOND WOOL SALE

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25091, 24 January 1947, Page 6

SECOND WOOL SALE

OFFERING OF LOWER QUALITY PROSPECTS REMAIN GOOD A catalogue of about 34,500 bales will be placed before buyers at the second main wool sale of the Christchurch season to be held in the Radiant Hall on Monday. New wool to be offered totals 33,035 bales, aiid in addition about 1500 bales of stock scoured wool will be offered. The catalogue is larger than usual. Before the war the second mam Christchurch sale had special interest, because the best of the fine ewe-wools produced in this country were offered at it, and, in general, high prices were obtained for a considerable quantity of this super grade wooL Groovers of extra super Corriedale and halfbred wool made some effort to get their ewe wool into this sale, which, rightly or wrongly, was considered the most important of the Canterbury season. Some of the former glory of the second sale has departed. The weather in October, and particularly in November, maae it practically impossible for producers to bring out their wool at its best; and, in addition, the call for heavier lambs during the war led many farmers to put through their fine wool flocks a dash of Romney Marsh blood, which has reduced the quality of the clip as a whole, quite apart from the effects of the weather.

Less Wool Yet the wool to be offered contains a great deal of really excellent quality. Less than the pre-war normal amount of extra super wool will be shown, and in general the offering is fully half a grade below that at the first sale, at which a substantial amount of outstandingly good hogget wool was shown. Practically all the wool to be offered is slightly yellow, and in other details shows the effects of the continued bad weather of November. It has not the bloom that is usually expected at a second Christchurch sale. Poor colour and dry yolk are the main faults. Otherwise the wool is well grown, and most producers will sell a heavier clip than usual. The excellent winter offset to some extent the poor growing season experienced in the spring and early summer.

Marlborough Offering Apart from the large proportion of wool of lower counts, there are two other points in which this offering differs from pre-war second sale offerings. The first is that a large amount of northern Marlborough wool is to be offered, and the second is that a much greater proportion of the offerings have been reclassed by the broking firms.

Shipping difficulties, and the completion of the South Island. Main Trunk railway have made it easier for manjr Marlborough producers to sell in Christchurch than in Wellington, where much Marlborough wool was formerly sold. It is probable that about 15,000 bales of Marlborough wool, in addition to the normal quan-. tity, will be offered at Christchurch this season. All the catalogues for this sale contain a substantial weight of Marlborough wool, including some high-quality Merino clips. Reclassed and binned wool accounts for between one third and one half of the total offering, a proportion which is very much larger than was usual before the war. Difficulties of securing classers and other shed labour are a factor, but probably more important is the realisation by many owners of smaller flocks that their rather mixed wool, produced as a consequence of the introduction of a greater proporr tion of crossbred blood, can better be dealt with in the stores than on the farm. There is also a growing appreciation among owners of small flocks that their wool is more profitable to them if it is binned and sold as part of a large straight line. Stores Full Present All the stores are full of wool at present, largely because the additional Marlborough wool has taxed capacity. Wool sold at the first sale has been cleared well, but enough is already in hand to have more than filled the catalogue for the third sale at the end of next month. The situation in the stores is not yet serious, but if wool sold at Monday’s sale cannot be shipped in reasonable time it will be difficult for some of the firms to accept more into store. Prospects for the sale appear to be bright. No sales of-fine wool, which is sold almost exclusively in Canterbury and Otago, have been held since the middle of December and therefore there is no recent market experience on which to base a forecast; but there appears to be no reason to suppose that, having regard to quality, prices will be any lower for fine wools than they were at the excellent sale in December. Three-quarterbreds and crossbreds are expected, to be about at the same level, whifeh throughout the season so far has been a little above the J.O. upset price. The weather and (to a smaller extent) other factors have combined to reduce the quantity of extra super and showy fine wools normally offered at a second Christchurch sale; but the large offering contains a great deal of the high grade fine wool that is in excellent demand at present. Prospects for the sale are good. The catalogue and order of sale are: Bales. National Mortgage and Agency Company, Ltd. .. 5,353 N.Z. Farmers’ Co-operative Association of Canterbury, „_Ltd 4,974 N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Ltd. .. 3,123 H. Matson and Company .. 3,886 Pyne, Gould, Guinness Ltd. .. 7,835 Dalgety and Company, Ltd. .. 7,864 Stock sccasred wpol .. .. 1,500 Total 34,535 The sale will begin at 9 a.m.