FIRST MAIN WOOL SALE

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25365, 12 December 1947, Page 6

FIRST MAIN WOOL SALE

BIG CATALOGUE FOR WEDNESDAY

OFFERING OF HIGH QUALITY

Approximately 30,000 bales will be offered at the first main wool sale of (he Christchurch season, to be held in the Radiant Theatre next Wednesday. The sale will begin at 8 a.m. Most ol the offering is from Plains and low-country farms in North Canterbury, with a good showing of Banks Peninsula wool. A large amount has some forward from Blenheim, but little Marlborough Merino is represented. Little wool has come forward from the West Coast so far. As is usual at a first Christchurch fixture, the catalogue contains a big ★eight of hogget wool. Bather more ewe wool than usual has come forward, as in spite of the shortage of shearers, the season has been good enough to allow shearing to be well forward. The growing season has been excellent. The winter was mild and dry, and in most of the districts from which wool has been received there have been few serious outbreaks in the weather. Most of the wool is therefore well grown, and free from fault. Some of the later wools, which caught the October break, show some signs of yolk stain, and the dry winter accounts for some dustiness. In general, the wool is slightly below the exceptional quality of the wool forward for the first sale last year, when the catalogue was outstanding. This applies also to the hogget wools, which are not quite up to those of the first sale last year. Like the rest of the catalogue, they are of excellent quality nevertheless, and are above average. Some districts report heavier weights than those of last year, but in other. districts fleece weights are lower. The average should be satisfactory. Brokers Optimistic Brokers , regard the prospects with optimism. Fine wools of the style produced in Canterbury are still scarce, and are still wanted. In fact, the war-time practice of using coarser rams to provide more meat for export has resulted in some diminution of the quantity <i! fine halfbreds and Cornedales available here. The course of the market overseas has been firmer in recent weeks for practically all grades, and there has been some evidence of a relatively greater upward movement for the lower ?2 un , te ? s a S ain st the finer wools. Wool of 56’3-58’s counts has become so dear that it is probable that buyers are turning to the lower counts, which have been relatively cheap. The outlook for Canterbury wools is at present bright, though it is possible that the extremely high prices received for early shorn and light-conditioned wool in October will not be paid. The extra weight in the later wool should onset the lower price. Wool has come in this season more rapidly than usual, and unless ship, ments can be made speedily, the present flow of arrivals will put an embarrassing strain on accommodation in the stores. Some of the broking firms have money available to enlarge store space, out the present position of the building industry prevents new building. A great deal of wool, apart from that to be offered next Wednesday, is already in store, and more is arriving. It is probable that the catalogue for the February sale will be closed within a week. Storage space is the only worry brokers have at present, one broker said. “All I want,’’ he remarked, “is Father Christmas to give me a nice big empty store My worries would then be just about over.” The catalogue and order of sale are as follows: H. Matson and Company .. 3302 S Daigety and Company, Ltd. 6742 P yAe - Gould, Guinness Ltd. 8502 National Mortgage and ..Agency Company. Ltd. .. 5314 N.Z. Loan and Mercantile ..Gompany. Ltd. .. 2681 N.Z. Farmers’ Co-op. Assn., Ltd .. Total .. .. 30,151