Keen Bids Keep Up Wool Prices At Timaru Sale

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30937, 18 December 1965, Page 22

Keen Bids Keep Up Wool Prices At Timaru Sale

South Canterbury and Mid-Canterbury growers received satisfactory prices when the third wool sale of the season was held in Timaru yesterday. Values held up well, and the keen and sustained competition, in the opinion of one wool authority 7, made prices stabler than they have been for some time.

The general level of values, except for Merinos, did not show any substantial change on the Christchurch sale earlier this month, but the market seemed to have a better tone.

The sale opened buoyantly, and ended with the inquiry still keen. There was a good clearance of the 25,308 bales of greasy wool. In the early stages passings were less than 1 per cent over an offering of 1500 bales. The Wool Commission entered its floor-price bid only rarely during the day. The sale was notable for a sizeable representation of high-country dips, and in particular Merino dips from the Mackenzie Country. The Mackenzie wools were marred to some degree by some irregularity in length. Although the top wools were described as being up to 2} per cent cheaper than at Dunedin—the last sale at which wool of comparable quality was offered—the best Mackenzie wools still appeared to sell fairly well, and for Merino wool the sale seemed better than at Chrirtchurch this month. Merino wool reached or exceeded fiOd 14 times, and the top price of the day was 62td. Most of the Merino

offering brought SOd to 57d, about 5d per lb better than a year ago at Timaru, when most of the fine and coarser wools were selling between 40d and 50d. At the corresponding sale last year, values were falling, and fine wools were selling today at 5d or 6d per lb better. There was only a relatively light weight of halfbred and Corriedale wool in the offering, and this sold steadily from about 51d to 56d, which was about in line with Christchurch rates earlier this month. Halfbred wool sold to 61jd, and Corriedale, in only hmited supply, to S6d. Crossbred Sale For all descriptions of crossbred wool values were about on a par with late rates. Average and average to good crossbred wool was selling mainly from 44d to 48d, with odd sales to 56}d for fine crossbred. Oddments had another good sale, values being similar to those ruling earlier in the month. Fine-wool necks brought from about 47d to 52d, and coarser qualities from 45d to 50d; fine-wool pieces from 40d to 47d, and coarse pieces from 34d to 40d; fine-wool bellies from

37d to 44d, and coarser sorts from 21d to 37d; fine-wool crutcfaings from about 24d tn 30d. and coarser crutcfaings from 30d to 36d. The offering, ta 2408 lots, was sold in seven hours and a half, under competition mainly from the Continent, and with support from Bradford on hogget wools and local mills on Merino and some better style halfbred wools. The selection included ewe fleece, woolly and shorn hogget wools and oddments, as well as a bigger representation than usual of highcountry dips. One Mid-Can-terbury station sent in more than 500 bales. Leading Sales Top price of the day was 62id for three bales of super Merino warp in the binned entry of Pyne, Gould. Guinness Ltd. Glentanner station. In the Mackenzie Country, sold 11 bales of Merino wool at 62d and another 10 bales at did. For 15 bales, J. I. Innes, of Haldon station, Fairlie. realised 61}d, and the estates of D. Urquhart and Sons. Grays Hills, realised Olid for 15 bales of wether wool, did for seven bales of Merino wool, OOJd for 23 bales of two-tooth wool. SOd for another 13 bales of two-tooth wool, and 59d for eight bales of hogget wool. D. S. Blue (Omarama), sold five bales of Merino ewe wool at SO|d. and A. A. Innes (Black Forest station, Fairlie), sold nine bales of ewe wool at gold. D. M. France (Fairlie) had four bales at dOid, and J. Allan, of Bendross station. Lake Pukaki, realised d«d for four bales of hogget wool. Quarter-bred wool brought up to 591 d for four bales of hogget wool from L. N. Gould (Guide

HUI. Lake Pukaki). Mount Possession Bun Company (Mount Somen). also had four bales of ewe wool at 58|d. This was out of a consignment of 511 bales which the station had in the sale.

Halfbred wool sold to 61)d. the price realised by L. P. Chapman (Mount Somers) for five bales of ewe wool. The same vendor had four bales of wether wool at 58d. Ellon Farm (Montalto) sold five bales at s»d. and Huxley Gorge station (Lake Obau). had six bales of ewe wool at 58jd as well as five bales of hogget at 571 d. Sales at 57Jd were made by B. G. and H. Hunter-Weston (Lake Tekapo) for six bales of ewe wool, and by J. D. Waymouth (Fairlie) for five bales of hogget wool. The New Zealand and Australian Land Company (Braemar Station, Lake Tekapo) also had 12 bales of hogget wool at 57d. One of the best sales of the day of Corriedale wool was that of Harwood Farms, Ltd. (Ashburton), with six bales of ewe wool making 56d. Three-quarterbred wool sold to 54d for four bales from J. G. and B. J. King (Ashburton). Shenley Station (Albury) sold six bales of hogget wool at 53(d, and this price also went to B. A. Macdonald (Orari) for five bales of hogget wool. Sales at 52fd were made by J. D. Roberts (Ashburton), tor six bales of hogget wool; by J. Miller (Rangitata Island), for four bales; and by S. A. Murdoch (Mayfield), for 10 bales. Crossbred wool made to said

for four baler of extra One hogfiet from W. B. Brownlee (Blenheim). D. N. Hepburn (Orari) received 55id for four baler of extra fine Bomney hogget, and B. C. Bowker (Mpaaant Point) sold five bales of extra fine crossbred hogget at the same price.

O. J McDougall and Sons (Ashburton) sold six bales of eve wool at 53d. and W. G. Wallace (Bangttata) had four bales of hogget wool at 54d. Three bales of second-shear crossbred wool In the catalogue of Pyne, Gould, Guinness Ltd., sold for 44d. and five bales of Southdown wool offered by the same firm realised «01d. Details of catalogues, and order of sale, were: Bales National Mortgage and Agency Company of N.Z.. Ltd 5.3 M Pyne. Gould. Guinness Ltd. . fi.373 Wright, Stephenson and Company, Ltd. . 3.540 Canterbury Farmers' Cooperative Association. Ltd. 5.502 Dalgety and N.Z. Loan, Ltd. .. 4.497 Total ... .. 25.309 When a catalogue of 201 bales of scoured wool was offered, values ranged to 7*ld for halfbred wool, (Id to «4d for fine crossbred, 571 d to (3d for crossbred. (fid to (3d for fine crossbred hogget, (1 to Wtd for crossbred hogget, and 52d to 55d for crossbred pieces.