Stronger Market For Coarser Wools In Christchurch Sale

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31769, 28 August 1968, Page 21

Stronger Market For Coarser Wools In Christchurch Sale

The feature of the first Christchurch wool sale of the new wool selling season, held at the Wool Exchange at Addington yesterday, was the strengthening of the market for coarser wools, which had the best of the day’s selling.

The strong point of the sale was the fine and extra-fine crossbreds and the strong end of the halfbred and Corriedales which gained up to 2j per cent on values ruling at last Friday’s Timaru sale.

The balance of the coarser wools were very firm and tending in sellers’ favour.

Compared with the last Christchurch sale in May. when the market for all wools was at a low ebb, all crossbred wools advanced by 3c to 5c per lb yesterday. The coarser end of the halfbred and Corriedale wools similarly enjoyed a big lift of from 4c to 8c per lb. These were generally difficult to sell last season when they were heavily depreciated, compared with the finer qualities.

Cases were quoted yesterday of strong halfbred wools making up to 10c per lb more than comparable wool at last year's August sale. HOPEFUL MARKET

Considering the predominance of crossbred wool in the national clip, yesterday’s market was a hopeful one. Most of the crossbred wool was traded between 25c and 35c per lb. If there were weak points In the sale they were in the halfbred and Corriedale section. among the finer and medium wools where sales looked to have been made at modest rates. Some observers said these wools were easier than at Timaru. There were relative-; ly few sales at more than 50c. and the margin between finer ; and coarser wools may be, narrowing after a period in. which the finer wools havei

had the limelight For skirtings and crossbred! second-shear wool the mar-1 ket was better than it was at. Timaru. Crossbred crutchings. were firm and halfbred > crutchings. although inclined to be erratic, showed little; change. The sale began with a very full bench of buyers, and competition was keen. In the; early stages of the sale passings were about It per cent! of the offering, and although! they increased slightly as the,

'day progressed, they were relatively negligible. Some finer wool was among the pasings, and some Merino wool, of which there was very little in the offering, was passed at prices in excess of 50c per lb. COMPARISON DIFFICULT Although the market was relatively good, the Wool Commission was believed to be still making supplementary payments on a proportion of the coarser end of the clip. Because yesterday's offering included more than half new season's fleece, and this was a bigger proportion than usual because some growers are anxious to get their wool into this sale before the supplementary payments system is reviewed, it is difficult to com-

pare the sale with that in August las< year when the average price per lb was just under 23c. Yesterday s average may be better than this. Continental interests were by far the largest buyers, with some support from Japan and local mills. The official report

:on the sale also mentions I Eastern Europe as being among 'the buyers, but it is not thought that purchases for Iron Curtain countries were significant. Bradford was again inactive. The main weight of fine halfbred wool sold between about 40c and 45c per lb. with only a few sales exceeding 50c. Medium halfbred and Corriedale wools ranged mainly from i about 37c to 42c per lb. and stronger qualities from about 134 c to 40c. At these prices ■ these wools were from 3c to sc! i per lb better than at the August : sale last year, which was one I of the weakest sales for fine j wools since the fine wool recession in 1957-58. and 1958-59. Apart from the stronger wools, the other qualities of halfbred and Corriedale wool were making rates similar to those ruling at the last Christchurch sale in May. In the crossbred section the finer wools were bringing from

j 30c to 36c, with some sales to ■ i more than 40c, while medium ‘‘qualities brought mainly from • 127 c to 30c. and stronger wools •; from 25c to 28c. The finer wools in this ’j category were in advance of I • rates ruling last August, but | * other wools were making similar orices. These rates were, however, from 3c to 5c in l advance of the sale last May. Only a small weight of Merino was included, and it sold mainly from 45c to 48c. .with four sales at better than 150 c and up to 5-<ic. CRUTCHINGS BETTER Crutchmgs represented 25 per ' cent of the offering, and these i looked to be selling sub-

stantially better than they were in May and in last August. Halfbred and Corriedale crutchings and also crossbred crutchings sold between 14c to 26c per lb. Second-shear crossbred wool sold at similar rates to a year ago at 24c to 29c per lb. It was. however, slightly dearer than at the last sale in May.

Among skirtings fine woo! necks brought from 30c to 40c per lb, and coarser necks from 20c to 29c; fiqe wool pieces from 24c to 35c, with coarser qualities making from 14c to 25c: and fine wool bellies ranged from 22c to 30c, with coarser sorts making from 13c to 22c.

The offering comprised 22,576 bales in 2871 lots, and with breaks for meals, the selling of

this wool continued from 8 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. The wools were drawn from Mid and North Canterbury. and Marlborough, with a smaller selection from Nelson and the West Coast.

The new season's fleece wool was generally well grown and sound, but, depending on time of shearing, some of it was showing, discoloration. Also because of the wet winter, there was mud in the bellies and crutchings. Merino wool brought to 54jc per lb for two bales in the binned entry of the National Mortgage and Agency Company. Eight bales from B. A. West (Blenheim) realised 524 c, and seven bales frorh T. H. Ensor (Cheviot) brought 52c. Twelve bales from M. and E. Ryan and Sons, Ltd (Blenheim), sold for 501 c.

The best price for halfbred wool was 504 c for five bales in the bins of Pyne, Gould. Guinness Ltd. Another lot of four bales of binned wool offered by National Mortgage sold for 49c. J. B. Douglas-

Clifford (Stonyhurst) sold three bales at 47c, and eight bales al 461 c. The latter price was also paid to A. M. Richards (Hororata) for six bales.

M. M. Forrester (Kirwee) headed the Corriedale section with five bales of ewe wool selling at 50c. He also had another 15 bales at 47c. Sales at 49c were made by R. W. Wightman (Rangiora) with eight bales, and by K. A. Adams (Motunau) with four bales. R. G. Macdonald (Motunau) sold five bales of hogget wool at 474 c and 13 bales of ewe wool at 462 c. A. L. Shipley (Harewood) received 47c fop 16-bales, and also had seven bales at 46c. Sales at 46fc were made by Spurtleton Downs (Omihi) for four bales of hogget wdol, and by R. B. Coppard (Hororata) for 14 bales.

Three • quarterbred wool brought to 404 c for 29 bales offered by the Lands and Survey Department (Waiau). Binned wool offered by Pyne. Gould. Guinness Ltd, made to 391 c for five bales.

In the crossbred wool section the top price was 421 c for four bales of hogget wool in the binned selection of National Mortgage. Binned wool offered by the New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Association also sold to 41c. Steele Bros (Darfleld) realised 404 c for five bales and 40c was paid for five bales from Gorman Bros (Ashburton). C. M. Dickson (Oxford) received 384 c for eight bales, and sales at 37c were made by W. Reveley (Ashburton) for six bales, and by J, D. Cocks (Ashburton) for five bales.

Second-shear wool made to 32c for two bales of strong halfbred

wool In the bins of Pyne, Gould, Guinness Ltd. Another three bales from the New Zealand Farmers’ sold for 314 c. J. B. Douglas-Clifford realised 29|c for 13 bales of halfbred wool, and sales at 294 c were made by the Darnley Stud (Culverden) for three bales of Romney wool and A. D. H. Scott (Coalgate) for five bales of crossred wool. E. W. Turrell (Kaituna) sold two bales of crossbred wool at 29c and sales at 28Jc were made by R. G. Holmes (Rakaia) for 11 bales of crossbred wool, by Walpuna Station (Ikamatua) for 47 bales, and by Cape Foulwind Settlement (Westport) for 10 bales. Fine wool crutchings brought to 26Jc for five bales of halfbred crutchings from W. L. Nell (Rakaia Gorge). J. W. and M. J. Ensor (Okuku) sold four bales of Corriedale crutchings at 26c and D. L. Ensor (Rakaia Gorge) realised 254 c for seven bales of Corriedale crutchings. Crossbred crutchings brought to 274 c for eight bales in the bins of Dalgety and New Zealand Loan. Among sales under growers’ brands were four bales from J. D. Cocks (Ashburton) at 264 c and four bales from C. Gallagher (Ashburton) at 241 c. Details of catalogues In order of sale were: Bales Dalgety and N.Z. Loan 6473 N.Z. Farmers’ Cooperative Association 3499 Pyne, Gould. Guinness Ltd 7207 National Mortgage and Agency .. 5397 Total .. w. 22,576