COMMERCIAL

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19792, 21 November 1938, Page 6

COMMERCIAL

FIRST WOOL SALE

AUCKLAND PREPARING

Though at one stage it seemed that there would be little possibility of the limit of 24,000 bales for the first Auckland wool sale next Saturday being reached, there is now no doubt of catalogues being filled. As a result of recent fine weather in the country, shearing has advanced so rapidly that last week city wool stores worked at considerable pressure to cope with the Hood of wool which arrived

Prospects for the sale are obscured by more flactors than for some years, due principally to the unstable international situation. However, the chairman of the Auckland Woolbrokers' Association, Air. B. J. Marquet, considers that the sale will be better than the first Auckland .salelast year.

|Bales .Opening Up Well

Mr. Marquet said the bales were opening up very well. Results of the facial eczema epidemic were plainly noticeable in the bulk of the Waikato wool, for which special classes had been arranged this yean - to provide for affected clips. They were distinctly lighter -in staple than usual, but at the same time some of the Waikato wools were opening up surprisingly well, and he had seen some bales which had not been affected at all.

Clips from North Auckland and Waiheke farms, said Mr. Marquet, were all very good wools, the standard being right up to the best years. The wool was clean and of good staple. The bulk of the offering is hogget and dry sheep, though a proportion of ewe wool is included. Very little lambs' wool is offered at the first sale.

Brokers expect the Continent to be well represented next Saturday. Chief reliance for this expectation is placed upon French 'activity at the recent Australian sales for, though last year France bought in excess of immediate requirements as a form of protection against devaluation of the franc, with the result that there are substantial held-over stocks in various French manufacturing centres, buyers from France operated energe'tieal'ly in Australia during the last few weeks.

Will Japan ,15uy Freely? Japan is the chief enigma. If this country bought with increased freedom the success of the New Zealand wool season would be practically assured, but the effects of the war in China and of the Japanese international trade position have to be taken into account. As a result of these and other factors, Auckland brokers are waiting for the sale to obtain a lead for the rest of the season.

Though many topmakers in Bradford are holding considerable stocks of wool which they have refused to sell forward, as is the custom when lower prices are expected, supplies of Haw ma'terral are no more than normal in Great Britain. As a result, though industrial uneasiness as a result of the internatioraal situation cannot he overlooked, purchases from this quarter should be up to usual. In addition, if defence preparations are main'tained, large quantities of crossbred wools will probably be bought this season to provide for arrnv uniforms.

In the past New Zealand has always been able to rely upon the generous proportion of crossbred supplies obtained by the United Kingdom and, though Australian growers have recently been producing more crossbred than formerly, this country's crossbred wools arc expected to meet with general British inquiry tit the coming series of sales.