AUCKLAND WOOL CLIP.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18879, 29 November 1924, Page 12

AUCKLAND WOOL CLIP.

FIRST SALE NEXT FRIDAY.

RECORD OPENING OFFERING.

[. EXCELLENCE OF QUALITY.

f QUESTION OF RESERVES.;;

The first wool, sale of the season in 'Auckland, which will be held, on Friday, will establish a record in the quantity offered, compared with the corresponding sale of anv previous season. The catalogue for tl.o sale closed yesterday and though the exact figures are not available, a reliable ostimate fixes the offering at over 18,000 bales'. This is. approximately 6000' bales in excess of last season's catalogue for the first sale, when the record catalogue of 11,994 bales was offered for the first sale of the season. There has been an unprecedented rush of wool to the brokers' stores during the last fortnight, and the work of classing and preparing it for market is proceeding at a feverish paue. The substantial increase in offerings is no doubt largely due to the great prices realised at the Wellington, Napier and Wanganui sales. The prico per bale of the wool sold at Wellington was estimated at £40, an increase of at least £15 per bale on the best sale of last season. This increase was emphasised at the Napier sale a few days later, indicating that a new stapd- • ard had been established for this season's wool. The prices realised at the Wanganui sale provided further evidence that high values would be perpetuated throughout the fixtures for the first series of sates for the season. :

i Early Marketing Advisable. Woolgiowers in the Auckland province appear to be welhadvised in getting their ■wool to the market at'the first available opportunity. The woolbrokers candidly confess themselves to. be ttnore or less at sea regarding the prices to be expected at the forthcoming sale. Judging from the, prices realised for the clips up to the present there is no established standard. "There appears to be a worldhunger for wool," said a "prominent broker, yesterday, "and no standard has • yet been established on which to base au estimate of any clip, within pence per pound of what it may realise under the hammer. All wool absorbing countries must have their demands filleoV and buyers apparently have wide .limits. The • lines required .may be competed.for eagerly and reach, unprecedented.. figures. Other- Wools in. equal esteem in' Jiormal timea- may not. be the. medium, of. such feverish- competition- and while selling well. may not reach the figures p?id for clips. thatVusually bring no better prices." This feature was emphasised at the Napier sale, when growers with high reserves on their offerings had them passed in. The- buyers retaliated by refusing to bid for any other lots of the same- brand offered..'. The,, action of the buyers had its effect. - The reserves'were withdrawn and the wooK:was sold at tho price- offered.. • In , contrast it piay... be stated'' that ' several" aof " the catalogues offered at Napier had no reserves and . every bale, was sold under, the-hammer. "Whatever may be thought of the action 'of the'buyers at Napier,.it. serves to show "that 'buyers and brokers alike have . no fixed standanl as' in the ' past. The buyers,, of course, are acquainted with the requirements of their principals and:with a fair estimate of what is offering in the (Dominion are anxious to fill those requirements! before • the available offerings.'..are *;chau'sted. As a. result, they bid up.to . wide, limits for'the lines they prefer. Other lines of equal merit in the opinion .-of growers may not excite the same keen .competition. '.. ;

Brokers' Advice to Growers..

In the circumstances brokers who are

requested by clients to place values on clips;ifind it extremely'"-difficirlt to comply ' with this quite usual demand: The advice '■ of the brokers Unanimously expressed is that, .the growers should send their clips forward and accept the market - price ofieriogL-. iThe. •producers, in -- any cas§, assured of high. prices. If ..they... hamper "the. brokers by 'placing. unduly high reserve's on their wool, a "golden opportunity may be lost. That in . essence is the case.for the brokers. The I market is m -a. state of flux', and they cannot be .expected to fix values as experts with the usual degree of accuracy in:. the interests of clients. 4 The case for the optimistic grower is that values in other countries are rising. The. results of the' London 'sales,' ;pub-lish-ed yesterday, .indicated a rising mar- ' ket particularly' for : croSsbreds,' that bro lght values in-London to a parity with established in the Dominion. This further, emphasises "the fact that, in recent years, London' has adopted the standard of values set up by the Dominion sales. It also explains no doubt the extension in limits I provided to the Bradford buyers subsequent to the' Wellington sale, -when the Americans outbid the English buyers. This season the-growers' apparently are placed in the position of being asked to accept unprecedentedly good prices for their product, or * risk having to hold thnir offerings 'until next season, - when the ■ market may have been adjusted to a fixed standard lower or higher, as the case may be. Everything considered, it appears to be an unusually pleasant prospect for the producer.. Business acumen, as represented by the broker, naturally advises realising while the market is good. . Zj:4 Offering Yet Shown. -•■>••' The..quality of the Auckland' clip this year is better than usual. The brokers state that -the. catalogue for the coming sale will comprise the best offering., of wool ever shown in Auckland. Crossbreds,. as usual, will predominate, and the quality is excellent. .. There .will, also be a good percentage,of finer wools, the production of wliich is' increasing, in. the district. The offering is stated to be such that the keenest competition is expected in all classes, but it is admitted that while prices will be high the stpndard of values may be uneven. . It is expected that tho bench of buyers will be the largest yet seen in Auckland, . and will include representatives from all •the wool-consuming countries of . the world, ; * :.r.l'- . . ;■•"*.-;'■■':