WOOL-SELLING SEASON.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20905, 20 December 1929, Page 21

WOOL-SELLING SEASON.

FIRST DUNEDIN SALE,

A SMALLER OFFERING

CLIP IK FAIR CONDITION

The first sale o£ : the 1929-30 wool sellmp: season to be held iu Dunedin will be opened .in Burns Hall at 9 a.m. this morning,: when the seven local selling agents will offer catalogues comprising a total of 20,151 bales. At the corresponding sale here last year the .total offering was 22,630 bales. ~ .

E.ecent uncertain weather conditions have 6omethiij(ft,o d 0 w jt u this year's .reduced, catalogues, as some of the larger stations which, customarily include their wool m the.first sale have yet to complete shearing. The sale last December was characterised by a good demand, with steady bidding throughout, which resulted in an exceptionally good clearance at very satisfactory prices to ther grower. At that sale the wool was not in the best of.order, being a little too deep grown for, the quality, although" it was heavier in condition than übubL The top price at the sale was 25id paid for super merino 25d,being paid for the best halfbred of super quality. It will be no news to anyone who has followed the trend of the wool market since the opening of the season at Wellington last month that last year's prices cannot be expected this season. The market to-day is fully 6d per lb below last year s price level and there appears to be no reason why the Donedin safe today should bring to light any better conditions than'have ruled at northern sales. The Christchurci sale on November 30, which practically set the basis for fine wool valueß. for. the season, although it maintained a comparatively satisfactory level-of values, reflected the dull tone of other sales. Good fleece wools sold fairly well on the. whole, but all other lines scarcely held northern rates! The.top Cornedale price at Christchurch was IBJd compared with 24§d last season, and the best halfbred lot this year brought 18Jd against 24d at the corresponding sale last year. These comparisons of extreme values reflect fairly Accurately the discrepancy between this year's, rates arid those ofJast season in most lines of wool. . T ? e . ? ht> that will be auctioned to-day is fairly heavy in condition, although many lots, cannot be said to be at all well grown. The weather has left its mark on most of the wool in-Otago, some ot '* being dusty and discoloured aa a result of dry - weather, and other lots .show. a slight tenderness as * result of the shortage of feed that was experienced .earlier in the summer and in tne;late spring.. One thing, hbwever, is certain,.that the wool offered to-day canregarded as typical of the article ? wUI be brought forward at later sales.. There is a good deal of wool still to be shorn that will not measure up to buyers standards of best qualitv. _Jhe average price per bale secured in uunedm last season was £2l Is Bd, compared. with £25 19s Ud in the 1927-28 season It is doubtful. whether to-dav'a sale will result m a better per bale remated that the drop in wool prices will cost Australia about £18,000.000 and New Zealand something over £4,500,000 th£nn£ T > ° r °, fo L r thiß mining, with the catalogued bales that will be auctioned by each of the selling organisations is

Order of Salp. BaleF. 4 82S 1—Dalgety and Co., Ltd 2—>,afcional Mortgage and Agency o Company of X.Z., Ltd. .. ' 2 83S • Stephenson - "d Go. *—StrqnSch Morris and Co.. Ltd S-Dpnald Eeid and Co., Lfcd , • 5,300 1,868 2,156 °~y5 a B° . Fanners' Co-operative - - T Association of' N.Z., Ltd 1,618 t— New Zealand Loan and Mercannlc Agency 'Company, Ltd. 1,542 Total ■.;..' 20.151