OUR YORK SHIRE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3512, 5 July 1921, Page 12

OUR YORK SHIRE LETTER.

LARGE STOCKS—SMALL CONSUMPTION. From Our Special Correspondent. BRADFORD, May 5, 1921. The trade entered upon another series of Colonial sales last Tuesday, when the usual Home and Continental buyers put in an appearance, Coleman street Wool Exchange being fairly well crowded. Practically no American buyers were present, and none were expected. America seems to have had hr fill of Colonial wool, and the next move will he to get her machinery running and shift the imported raw material. With America silent in all distributing markets, we are now able fully to estimate the strength of the buying movement on Home and Continental account, and the position may be regarded as very satisfactory. Prices went in favour of the seller, greasy merinos being about 10 per cent, dearer, fine and medium crossbreds 74 to 10 per cent., and low crossbreds 5 per cent What Colonial pastoralists are wanting most is to see merinos advance 25 per cent and crossbreds 50 per cent, to bring the raw material on to a paying basis. When one considers the extra ex-

pense incurred in production, even merinos are sensibly below pre-war prices. Many in consuming centres forget this important fact, the majority failing to realise that nil expenses on the stations have more than doubled since August, 1914. This means that every lb of woo! being grown in Australia, and New Zealand is today costing something like 75 per cent, above pre-war times, anc! some asert quite 100 per cent, A QUICKENED DEMAND.

There are available this series 40.000 bales of B.A.W.R.A. wool, and 37,000 bales of “free” wool, quite sufficient to make a respectable show. The catalogues so far have presented a very good selection cf both merinos and crossbreds, though the latter are likely to be rather limited. It is patent that some rather serious difference have arisen in London between i mporters and B.A.W.R.A. in regard to the offerings, while the trade are strongly disposed to let B.A.W.R.A. wool take care of itself. All is not going well with the held-over quantity of old wool, and the directors of B.A.W.R.A. have onlv themselves to thank for the moss in which they find themselves. Conditions to-dav are exactly what Mr Harry Dawson foretold some two or three months ayo, when q'.n a speech delivered at Huddersfield he said there was going to he a mess uu in the wool trade. Things might have been more harmonious if the directors of B.A.W.R.A. had not tried to rule (he trade, and at last, they must realise that their tactics have cost them dearly. It is utterly useless for the directors of B.A.W .11. A. to think that they are ,r oing

to dictate a policy to the trade and compel competition for old wool at higher values than those ruling for “free” new wool. It is like offering- old milk instead of new, for wool loses its bloom after a certain length of time, and as B.A W.R.A. wools have been very much “creamed” by the host combing descriptions being sold, buyers are certain to use their discretion in

valuing what, is left. The same cannot be said for new clip wools, and the demand for these is better than expected. The opening day revealed many pronounced needs on the part of buyers; in fact, Bradford top makers were never so bare ot stocks of merino tops, thanks to the heavy shipments made across tho Atlantic during the last three months. In fact, there are firms to-day in Bradford who are still shipping tops to New York for all they are worth, and there is every prospect of a quickened demand for the raw material throughout the current, series. We shall be very greatly surprised if the call for wool is not a developing one; in fact, the

posit. • f many top makers compels them to buy order to cover their needs. The ltnprov 1 opening values complied with the close of the previous series stands out m marked contrast, to many previous series when sensible declines followed in quick succession, a:.d it is to he hoped that the initial advance will be maintained to the finish. B.A.W.R.A.’S TROUBLES. Some very important cables have come over from Australia since we last wrote, all of which indicate that, both growers and B.A.W.R.A. have got the wind up. Mr Hughes says that there is a “mountain of surplus woo! trembling on the edge of a precipice, which threatens to fall and utterly crush the industry.” That figure of speech no doubt is correct, and Mr Hughes apparently is concerned that this mountain of wool cannot he sold on a basis of I4s for merino tops, the same as twelve months ago. If merino tops had not soared to that giddy height the present slump would never have come, and there certainly is room for serious concern over the position of the raw material. There is in stock 4,500,C00 bales of wool, a new clip is beginning to be shorn in Australia, and- by the end of the year there will be at least 6.500.000 bales in sight of Colonial wool alone if the present measure of consumption dorg not. undergo a very great change. There is, therefore, no wonder at grave concern being expressed in Australasian wool circles, and equal concern at this end in knowing how to bring about an improvement, both in demand and prices. The Australian Prime Minister had left last week-end for England, and evidently he hopes to contribute to the conferences, which will be held when he arrives in regard to the disposal cf this wool. Mr Hughes suggests a remedy—namely, keeping B.A.W.R.A. wool off the market tirely for the next two years. A good dial can be said both for and against tins. This wool has cost British taxpayers something Iike£S6.OCO.OCO. and there ate those who ere demanding that it fce_ offered for sale regardless of what it realises. That is not the view of the writer. Those who advocate offering big weights of wool have never participated in the practical side of the trade. The writer has contended all along that there is sufficient, raw material, both merino and crosshreds, of the current Australian and New Zealand clip to satisfy all present and prospective consumptive needs. If no regard is paid to the consumptive state of trade and what users require to keen the present restricted machinery running, then values will slump still more. On tho other hand, the only safe policy for B.A.W.R.A. is either to remove her stocks entirely off the market until trade revives, or else be prepared to sell their offerings at a market price; but it must be clearly understood that it will bp very unwise to offer more than the trade ran reasonably absorb. Some writers "hfivo not vet realised the real cause of t.io present trouble in the wool world namely, the very restricted consumption, which is no more than one third of normal. Tt would he the height of follv to ask the trade to absorb unlimited supplies of raw material; in fact, users have not the capital to-day to do anything of the kind simply because of the ‘colossal losses which have taken place in consequence of the great slump i'll stocks, which have been carried by everyone from the top maker to the manufacturer.

MORE EXPORT TRADE WANTED. Though there has recently been some improvement in the sales of crossbred fops to the Continent, there is still considerable room for improvement in this direction, for the prices‘accepted have been exceedingly reasonable, due largely no doubt to the fact that Continental firms are able to compete on a very low basis. Bradford houses are heinn- severely hit by the low cost of combing on the Continent. Exporters of noils finding that they are quite unable to sell at. sufficiently low figures to compete with the noil-, which are being produced bv tho Continental firms. Before tim war large quantities of noils were bought in this country by Italian hatting firms but to-dav they are suppling their needs on the Continent. The oily profitable outlet for noils and other by-products during recent months has been the United States. This business lias been of a somewhat, uncertain character owing to the. probability of the new Emergency Tariff Bill into foiee at any moment, but while it has lasted it has been useful in he.pmg to lecluce stocks.