AUSTRALIAN CLIP

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 2, 4 January 1937, Page 12

AUSTRALIAN CLIP

- : $ buoyant market If current prices of wool are maintained the Australian Mercantile, Land, and Finance Company, Ltd., in its latest wool report, expresses the opinion that it would not be unreasonable to expect the average price of Australian greasy wool this season to compare favourably with the average of 1933-34. It may even reach the 1928-29 average of 16.44 d per lb, but it should not be overlooked, when making comparisons of this nature, that the Australian pound in 1928-29 was worth practically as much as sterling. Raw wool was now bought in the Commonwealth for direct shipment to 30 foreign countries. Wool requirements of countries within the British Empire were growing consistently. Crossbred prices had almost reached parity with those of December, 1933. Unless values declined in the remainder of the season, the proceeds of the clip should exceed £50,000,000. There appeared to be scarcely enough wool to meet the requirements of manufacturers. Synthetic fibres were not competing with wool to the degree that was feared. It has been asserted by textile specialists that synthetic fibres were adjuncts to wool rather than competitors, but judicious advertising of the qualities of wool should be advocated to ensure that the popularity of woollens was maintained, and the markets for the commodity strengthened and expanded.