Farm and Station THE WOOL OUTLOOK

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIV, Issue 212, 21 August 1934, Page 8

Farm and Station THE WOOL OUTLOOK

H.B. Farmers Concerned BUYING OVERDUE IN 1933 The outlook for wool prices for the coming season is causing some concern to Hawke's Bay sheepfarmers. With the higher prices ruling last season it was thought that the woolgrowers’ troubles had ended, but. whether their hopes are to be fulfilled remains to be seen. There is no doubt that wool is one of the world's commodities that has moved into consumption steadily, and it is also true that drought, and oilier adverse conditions affected some of tho producing countries lust season. As a consequence it was then considered that there would be a shortage of production, and this brought about higher prices at the various woo] sales. The buying, however, which took place, it would seein, has been overdone, with the result that there .has been an accumulation of tops and manufactured articles. In other words, merchants have not been able to work off their stocks of goods us readily as they hud expected. The financial and exchange difficulties experienced by a number of foreign countries have paused a weakening in demand, and there has been a steady decline in values of wool from the end of the last selling season up to the present. This decline has been much greater than most people anticipated, and it applies more particularly to the finer qualities, which have dropped to the extent of no less than (id to 8d per lb. in the raw wool, compared with the values ruling in the Dominion during last season. This decline is not so marked in crossbreds, the values of which did not . advance so greatly as was the case with the finer qualities of wool. It is satisfactory to be able to state that, according to reports from Bradford, the bottom of the market is considered to have been reached, and that already some of tlio tops have increased in values. The latest information by cablegram states that merinos have advanced Id per lb., and that there has also been a rise in some of the other tops. The future of the market is, however, still uncertain, and a good deal will depend on the purchasing powers of foreign countries and also on what effect the quotas will have on the position. One of the first signs of an improvement may be seen in an agreement recently arrived at between England and Germany. This will enable Germany to purchase wool, and in this connection it is just as well that the sales in New Zealand do not commence for some time yet. In the meantime growers can look forward with fome hope to an improvement in conditions before the sales start in the Dominion.