Fall in wool market despite easing dollar, colour demand

Press, 17 January 1986, Page 12

Fall in wool market despite easing dollar, colour demand

The wool market fell back slightly yesterday at a combined Timaru and Invercargill sale, in spite of an easing of the New Zealand dollar value, and some keen demand for good colour wools. The fine wool prices were nominally steady on the good prices for the season, made at the last Christchurch sale, on December 20.

But among the crossbred wools it was a different story, with quotations for almost all categories falling when compared with the previous Napier sale, on January 10. The influence of widespread colour testing was difficult to assess at yesterday’s sale, but some market sources maintained that the Wool Board’s new valuations to take account of colour test results did influence the market for better style crossbred fleece wools. From January 1 the board has put the colour test results, when available, into its valuations with the same weighting as other test results, such as micron and yield. Yesterday the full offering of Invercargill wools was colour tested and two of the three Timaru catalogues. The market sources suggested that the board’s valuation of say a B style wool may

have been lifted because the colour test was good, but that the exporters might be still discounting such a line because of some colour in the greasy sample. In this example, the board would in effect be acting to recover the grower a price reflecting the true colour of the wool and the cost of colour testing, payable by the grower. Exporters have argued that until the New Zealand colour test becomes an International Wool Textile Organisation standard, used with confidence by importers and manufacturers, then they must in thenown economic interests continue to subjectively appraise colour in the greasy samples. Good style and colour crossbreds sold well in the Timaru catalogues, and the board was required to be less active in bidding, buying and supporting prices than it was in the Invercargill section. Two bales of fine Merino wool from J. R. Innes (Waihaorunga) headed the Timaru prices with 765 c (70.4). J. H. McKenzie and Son (Oamaru) received 730 c (73.4) for three bales of fine and 654 c (71) for a single bale of extra fine.

Eight bales of Merino from M. R. and W. J. Bailey (Kurow)

made 643 c (70.2), five bales of fine woolly hogget from W. R. Patterson (Lindis Pass) sold at 645 c (67.3), and P. J. Walton (Herbert) received 626 c (69)-for two bales of fine and 625 c (69.4) for three bales. Halfbred sold to 597 c (72) for eight bales of extra fine from P. J. Walton. Other good prices by this vendor included 578 c (72) for 10 bales of extra fine, 470 c (71.3) for six bales of fine, and 453 c (72.9) for four bales. W. R. Patterson was paid 572 c (68.2) for 15 bales of extra fine Halfbred woolly hogget and Coldstream Estate (Ashburton) sold four bales of fine shorn hogget at 430 c (68.9). Thirteen bales of threequarterbred shorn hogget from Estate L. D. Scully (Mayfield) made 390 c (73.5), 13 bales of two-tooth sold at 396 c (75.4) and 21 bales made 378 c (74.2). Grant Brothers (Geraldine) sold three bales of extra fine Corriedale at 381 c (64.5), A. H. and M. J. Oliver (Carew) received 377 c (70.7) for 19 bales, and H. D. and J. D. Haslett (Ashburton) 371 c (69.5) for six bales.

A leading crossbred price was 414 c (79.7) for five bales of shorn hogget from A. A. D. and F. E. Lovett (Ashburton). Nine bales of similar description from G. C. L. and J. G. Harper

(Carew) sold at 395 c (76), and an eight-bale line of fine from G. D. Adams (Fairlie) and A. E. Wooding (Woodbury) made 'fß4r> I7R9\ A. N. ' Robertson (Hinds) received 388 c (79) for 16 bales of crossbred, B. H. McDonald (Peel Forest) 383 c (78.6) for 19 bales, and D. A. Coker (Orton) 383 c (78) for eight bales of twotooth.

Two vendors of crossbred received 382 c — J. G. Salmond (Totara Valley) for five bales of medium shorn hogget (72.9), and D. L. Lundie and Sons (Pleasant Point) for seven bales (76.7). C. J. McCarty (Fairlie) sold 21 bales of crossbred at 380 c (79.1), Peel Forest station (Peel Forest) received 379 c (78.3) for 16 bales of crossbred second-shear, and Remington Farm Partnership (Ashburton) sold 45 bales of crossbred at 379 c (74.8). Medium crossbred made 378 c (72.3) for 26 bales from C. R. Jaine and Son (Carew) and 377 c (73.3) for five bales from Thanet Farm, Ltd (Ikiwai).

Romney shorn hogget sold at 385 c (80.2) for 17 bales from Weir Brothers (Methven), 371 c (73.6) for six bales from Helmsdale Trust, and 374 c (77.9) for nine bales from G. D. and I. N. Cooper (Geraldine). J. W. Allan (Ashburton) sold 11

bales of Romney at 373 c (77.3), W. G. Burdon (Orari) 371 c (76.3) for 29 bales, and Estate R. G. Johnson (Blue Cliffs) received 375 c (77.7) for 15 bales. Coopwortb sales included five bales of shorn hogget from Estate J. K. Cormack (Geraldine) at 385 c (74.8), seven bales from R. L. Leslie (Waimate) at 382 c (79.6), and 20 bales from R. H. Horsman (Geraldine) at 380 c (77.7). Nine bales of fine Perendale from W. L. King (Fairlie) made 373 c (76.9), while Borderdale reached 394 c (76.7) for 24 bales from H. D. and J. D. Haslett. The Hasletts received also 388 c (76.1) for 12 bales of shorn hogget, and 381 c (74.4) for 19 bales.

Other Borderdale sales included 381 c (74.9) for 37 bales from Riversdale Farming Company (Ashburton). Seven bales of Border-Corriedale two-tooth from W. P. Forsyth (Ealing) made 381 c (73.8) and 16 bales sold at 379 c (71.9).

Romney lambs’ wool reached 389 c (81) for 10 bales from P. W. Allport (Westport), two bales of Lincoln lambs’ wool from K. A. and L. M. Hall (Clearmont) made 375 c (78.3), and fine Halfbred lambs’ wool sold to 360 c (74.8) for 10 bales from T. P. Lowe and Company (Ashburton).