WOOL SACRIFICED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21137, 21 March 1932, Page 10

WOOL SACRIFICED.

THE AUCKLAND SALE.

further drop in values. AVERAGE PRICE OF FOURPENCE. MOST DISCOURAGING SEASON, j The third and final Auckland wool sale of the 1931-32 season, held in the concert chamber of the Town Hall on Saturday, brought to an end one of (he most discouraging seasons on record. Prices for fine wools were Id a pound lower than those obtained at tho Auckland salo m January and on u par with those realised at the Napier sale last Wednesday. As the prices obtained were >d to 3d lower than the rates ruling at the commencement of the season, growers who had held their wool back in expectations of an improvement, were gravely disappointed. The average price for crossbreds was a shade over 4(1 a pound, or approximately C 5 34s a bale, compared with 4.73 d a pound and £6 lis Id a bale received at Ihe January sale. Ihe bulk of t.he clip was crossbred, a great deal of it being rough and yellow and carrying a good deal of seed. Fine crossbred sold freely at 4jd to a lb., some, lots bringing 6d and A certain amount of poorer crossbred was passed in at 2Jd to 3,jd. Top price of was secured for nine bales of halfbrcd, branded A2, sold by Alfred Buckland and Sons on behalf of Mr. L. F. Ash win, of Awaroa, Waiheko Island. Top price at tho'March sale last season was Hid. while at the opening sale of the present season the top price was lCcl and at the January sale, llid. Reason for Withdrawals. Mr. Ash win secured lOd for four bales of half bred ewe, while five bales of halfbred hogget were passed in at 9d. Iwo other lots brought 10(1, namely, 12 bales and four bales respectively of superfine halfbrcd wethers, sold on behalf of J. and D. Gray, C'owes Bay, Waiheke. Owing largely to the heavy quantity of wool withheld from the earlier sales, the offering on Saturday promised to be an exceptionally large one, 23,130 bales having been catalogued, compared with 16.959 at, the March sale last year. At the last moment, however, 3714 bales were withdrawn and a large quantity, estimated at from 35 per cent, to 40 per cent, of tho remainder, was unsold, being passed ill when the bidding failed to reach the growers' reserve, which in the majority of cases was marked down well below cost of production. A proportion of the wool passed in was subsequently sold privately, in some cases at the reserve price for which the growers originally asked. Approximately 10.000 bales which were not sold will be'shipped to England in the hope of values improving at the London wool sales, a material factor being the advantage accruing to the grower from the rate of exchange. The knowledge that the Yorkshire woollen mills are again working full time was undoubtedly an influence in Saturday's withdrawals. France and Bradford Active.

There was a good bench of buyers arid bidding was very keen within limits, competition always brightening for well-classed top-making wools. A great deal of the iiidding, however, commenced at exceptionally low levels and some of the scraggy wools failed even to attract an offer. France was particularly active, securing a large proportion of the clip, including the bulk of the lambs' wool. The superior wools went chiefly to Bradford and Japan, Germany taking much of the seedy. The large gallery of spectators, principally farmers, found little in the sale to please them. Those growers who had held their wool back from the previous sale in the expectation that prices would firm as the season drew to a ('lose were frankly puzzled by the disapponting turn of events and at. a loss to know what course to pursue, ship their wool to London or wait, un'.il next season. Growers whose cost of production is in the neighbourhood of Is a pound admitted that they had lost, heavily all through the season. 'I hose whose costs approximate 6d barely covered expenses. Farmers Loce Heavily. A typical case was that of a King Country farmer who offered 16 bales ot crossbred at the January sale. They were passed in at 4J,d. On .Saturday he disposed of them for 3Jjd. "It will only pay the cost of shearing," he said. "I do not know what 1 am going to do. It is not only the wool. We are only getting 5s for store lambs, where two years ago the price was anything from 16s to £l." Another grower, who estimated his production costs at 6rl a lb., said he was offered 5-Jd for fine crossbred at the November arid January sales, and his offering on both occasions was passed in. He said he would only have been offered 4jjd on Saturday had he riot had his wool reclassed. As a result of that step he sold the entire offering on Saturday for "That is J,d better than 1 demanded and Jrl better than I was offered in January." he said. ''l am perfectly satisfied because I am not losing." The Official Report. The following official report was issued by tlie woolbrokors: —"Of the wool catalogued, a fair quantity was withdrawn prior to the sale, the actual offerings totalling 19,416 bales. Of this total, about 60 per cent, to 65 per cent, was sold under the hammer.

''Tliero was a representative bench of operators and bidding was fairly keen within limits, Bradford being 'I IO principal buyers. As is usual at the third sate, thorp was a fair quantity of seedy and rough sorts, much of it being back-country wool. As was expected, following (ho decline noted at. o her centres, fine wools wore down approximately Id a 11>. on our .January sale, and coarser qualities down jd to jjd." The offering in the order of sale was:— Dalgety and Company, Limited, 4061 bales; Abraham and Williams, Limited, 2754; Alfred Ruckland and Sons, Limited. 1482; Farmers' Co-operative Auctioneering Company, Limited, in conjunction with Not-ill Auckland Farmers' Co-operative, Limited, 6028: New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency, Company, Limited. 5091. ' .