Strong Sale For Auckland Wool

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31832, 9 November 1968, Page 46

Strong Sale For Auckland Wool

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, November 8.

The wool market continued its very buoyant tone at the second main Auckland sale of the season today, with farmers in many cases receiving prices more than 60 per cent better than those at this time last year.

For some extra fine hogget wools values were markedly easier than at the first Auckland sale in October but for all other wools prices were dearer by 1c to 3c per lb.

With prices up on average about 14c per lb compared with last November the sale returned growers about slm more for the same quantity of wool.

A dominant feature of the sale was that the Wool Commission was able to dispose of a further 5462 bales of stockpiled wool at prices which were, in many cases, substantially above those the commission had to pay for it under the floor price scheme in the autumn of 1967.

For some stockpiled lambs’ wool the commission received prices 5c to 10c above those it paid in 1967 and on some second-shear wool it made a gross profit of 4c. COMMISSION’S PROFIT

It was estimated that such prices would have more than given the commission its money back and paid the cost of reselling.

On average over all wools, however, the commission had to be content with a lower profit margin and the cost of storage, insurance and administration still has to be taken into account.

This season the commission has sold more than 68,000 bales for about $6) million. If prices remain buoyant the commission expects to be able to liquidate its sBm Reserve Bank overdraft by the end of the year but it still has a long way to go before the last is seen of a stockpile of more than 706,000 bales.

Of the total offering today of 27,232 bales, growers provided 21,770 bales of newly shorn wool, about half of it being full length and early shorn hogget wool and 20 per cent ewe and wether fleece wool. POOR SEASON Because of the poor season a lot of the hogget wool showed tenderness and it varied greatly in length colour and style. The result was that buyers tended to be very selective and the market was cheaper than in October for the extra fine wools.

Bread-and-butter lines sold so well, however, that the average price for the day was estimated to be close to 32c per lb or about $ll2 for a 3501 b bale. The average for the October sale was 29.9 c per lb, but in November last year, just before devaluation, it was only 17.49 c. Some farmers were prepared to take a gamble. A number of lots was passed in after failing to reach the farmers’ reserves.

The main buying strength came from the Continent with support from Japan and from the United States. Compared with the level at recent sales at Christchurch and Wanganui the market was quoted officially as showing little change for shorn hogget wools and inclined in sellers’ favour for strong crossbred fleece and second shear.