OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3861, 13 March 1928, Page 12

OUR YORKSHIRE LETTER.

(From Oub Special Correspondent.) NEW YEAR CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS. BRADFORD, January 5. The chief jtem of interest to colonial pastoralists as a new year opens is the outlook for the raw material. It is always a pleasure to be able to report good markets and bright prospects. We review the past year "with feelings of satisfaction, for most woolmen have taken stock over the year end, and found things quite as good as any reasonably-minded person could expect. It will be very unwise for anybody to lose their head and anticipate impossible prices. No one is warranted in entertaining extravagant views regarding the future, but we certainly think there is going to be a very encouraging demand for the raw material, accompanied with sound, satisfactory prices. WOOL AT A USEABLE PRICE. Wool of all qualities is at a useable price. Bradford has been waiting for the past two months to see easier prices, but values have only fallen a good 5 per cent., which is neither here nor there. While it is perfectly natural for any man to buy as cheaply as possible, no one begrudges pastoralists their present income from wool, and to-day prices are not going to stand in the way of a healthy, developing consumption. Wool is certainly fetching all it is intrinsically worth, but it is one of those commodities which are selling on a higher percentage basis than most other raw commodities. Yet users have faith in the future—so much so that every man seems to be a willing buyer. The second round of the season has just begun, the prices cabled from Sydney and Adelaide are certainly very satisfactory, and the sales are resumed in Australia with prices as firm as ever. As already said, we do not think that any party will keep off buying because of today’s ruling values. We certainly think that the home trade will be a much bigger buyer during the remainder of the season than during the past three months. A BETTER CLIP. The quality of all colonial clips shows an improvement on last year. The partial drought has done a great deal to fine-up the staple of the Australian clip, and this is particularly pleasing to French buyers. Some Bradford firms are saying that it is very difficult indeed to obtain wools of 60’s quality, and it will be Victorian comebacks that will have to satisfy the demands on this score. There is no more pleasing feature in connection with the colonial trade to-day than the fact that, while French spinners are wanting superfine quality wools, say super 70's to SO’s, the home trade is still a big buyer of medium qualities, and any deep 60s to-day will fetch very good figures indeed. At the same time there is never the same spinning quality about 60’s merino as a well-bred staple full of crimp, character, and quality. That is the reason why Bradford has spoken so emphatically during the past two years about the depreciation in the quality of Australian merinos, it not being altogether a coarser fibre that is complained about, but a distinct lack of spinning property. However, every quality of colonial wool is to-day in very keen demand. Every bale is going to be wanted, and no doubt the current clip, being finer than usual, is suiting French buyers in particular. WHY FINE WOOL IS WANTED. It is a remarkable thing that South African merinos are selling to-day at extravagant prices, distinctly higher than the same quality of Australian wool. This is due to the fact that there is far more spinning property in the South African article than in the Australian. Whereas Australian merinos in London have advanced during 1927 10 to 12J per cent., South African merinos have advanced 22. to 24 per cent., these being the advances given in the circular of Buxton. Ronald and Co. at the ejose of the last series of sales compared , with December; 1926. This is explained by the statement that the South African article possesses today more spinning value than Australian wools of the same quality. _ Here again the question arises. What is meant by spinning value? It refers essen+iaFv to the count of yarn that can be got from the wool being spun, for whereas aii Australian 70’s to-day may spin 1-60’s to 1-62’s count a South African fibre will spin to its full count, namely, 1-70’s. This season it is a common thing to find farmers’ clips anything from 70’s to SO’s quality, and when that wool comes into the hands of the French and Bradford, topmakers it will be carefully sorted and. two qualities of. tops made. The writer has inspected quite a lot of new -clip Cape wools, and was greatly surprised with their general excellence. Even the big, shafty Graaff .Reinet clips, more liktp Riverina wools last season, are to-day' firmer, and there is length and soundness of staple which is really commendable. After very careful examination of, I should say', 30 clips, I have only found one to be on the tender side, and this notwithstanding that the wools had been grown in a partial drought. There is one thing that must be said in regard to South African pastoralists, and it is their desire to grow what the trade is asking for, and to prepare their elips for market in Australian fashion. South African clips this season are selling anywhere from 25d to 29d per lb in the grease for the top line of combing. CONDITIONING HOUSE RETURNS. It has been often remarked that the Bradford Conditioning House is a reliable barometer of the state of trade. On the whole that institution has been kept busy during the past year, and a bigger weight of raw and semi-manufac-tured materials have been passed through than for several years previous. In looking at the returns for 1927 we must not forget that Russia has contributed

to the increase irp, the returns. • Many think that the shipments from England this year of wool, tops, noils, and wastes will show a great falling off, due to the fact that Russia is now buying her principal supplies from Australia and elsewhere. I give below the figures for the whole of the year, which show the principal goods passed through the Conditioning House for testing purposes. Alongside are given the figures for the two previous years: —

Totals 83,866,877 61,943,830 66,972,967 THE OUTLOOK. After the records of the two previous years many Bradford manufacturers are still in anything but a really hopeful mood about the future. Some very significant facts have come to light in regard to manufacturing conditions on the Continent compared with the West Riding; Amid all the gossip in the clubs and cafes regarding the Industrial Council and its attitude towards the desired reduction in wages in order to lower conversion costs, nothing really authentic has been done. Things are in a most unsatisfactory state, and neither side seems disposed to deal with the matter as it deserves. At the same time Lancashire is making a very determined move, for last week the Cotton Manufacturers’ Association decided to throw in their lot with the American section of yarn spinners and demand an increase in the working week of 4J hours, making it 524 •-nni lrs ’ also a reduction in wages of Per eent. I need hardly say that >• the Lancashire cotton industry has had • a bad tune since the termination of the war. - Millions of pounds sterling have been lost, and the inevitable conclusion has been arrived at that overseas markets cannot be retained on the scale of pre-war times until conversion costs are lower. It is just the same in the woollen and worsted trades. Wages are over 100 per cent, more than pre-war, compared with about 70 to 75 per cent, in other trades; and although no employer wishes to reduce wages, all think it * would be better for operatives to have a full working week. Even if the scale of wages were reduced slightly there would be some compensation in being able to work longer and the two together would help to'’reduce- conversion charges. Several of the big Anglo-German houses established in Bradford 100 years ago are doing far less in the exportation of piece goods. One firm went out of existence in 1927 the reason given being that to continue in business and not to be able to do any better than for the previous three years would only leave them still worse off. feature of the textile industry ©t Bradford which nobody likes, but it is having to be recognised that France, Germany, and Italy can manufacture piece goods cheaper than Bradford.

January 1 to end of December, 1927. lb. 1926. • lb. 1925. lb. Tops . 57,745,089 44,842,398 43,602,438 Wools . . 12,315,091 8,232,365 11,493,537 Noils . . 4,141,373 2,884,762 2,814,555 Wastes , 2,360,827 1,700,556 2,466,255 Yarns— Worsted 2,549,347 2,050,560 3,180,923 Cotton , 69,403 20,727 23,971 Silk . . 1,099 435 713 Good weighed only . ; 4,684,648 2,212,027 3,390,575