HIGHER WOOL PRICES

Southland Times, Issue 21822, 27 September 1932, Page 2

HIGHER WOOL PRICES

RAY OF HOPE TO GROWER. Optimism, which has been foreign to the wool trade for some years, has been created by the reports of the London sales. While the improvement in prices does not in itself bring the industry back to prosperity, it comes as a ray of hope to the harassed grower. The trade accepts the improvement with a “quiet optimism,” the outcome of disappointments experienced in recent years (states the New Zealand Herald). Present average prices for wool are estimated at between 4d and sd. It is claimed that the price must rise to an average of 9d before a reasonable return is obtained by the grower. This means a rise of 100 per cent., and, against this, a 20 per cent, increase does not figure very largely. For the trade to benefit materially it is stated that the present London series must close firmly and the November sales open with a further rise. “The future position of the trade will hinge on buyers’ activity at the November offerings,” said a broker.

The position regarding the carry-over of wool during the past three seasons cannot be considered entirely satisfactory. Stastical returns for July show that on June 30 a total of 107,129,3061 b. of wool was held in New Zealand. This is a considerable increase over the figures for recent years. The total converted to a greasy basis is approximately 116,000,0001 b, compared with 95,500,0001 b. at June 30, 1931, and 81,500,0001 b. in 1930. The policy of ‘‘holding back” was generally adopted in 1930 and has been followed since. Compared with the 1930 figure, the hold-over at June 30, 1929, was only 27,500,0001 b. on a greasy basis. In respect of its carry-over, New Zealand is at a disadvantage compared with Australia. A comparison can be drawn from Dalgety’s Annual Wool Review, which states of the New Zealand position: “Unfortunately this year, as was the case last season, many growers refused to meet the market and the carry-over of crossbreds is again heavy. To restore confidence, wool should be kept moving freely to the public in the form of manufactured goods and the fear of accumulated stocks eliminated from the buyers’ minds.” The following reference is made to the Australian position:—“The outstanding achievement of the season was the complete disposal of a clip of record proportions. While it might be misleading to state that the whole clip has ‘gone into consumption,’ as this naturally takes considerable time, the satisfactory point is that the season leaves practically no legacy of old wools.”