WOOL CHEQUE

Southland Times, Issue 22816, 15 February 1936, Page 6

WOOL CHEQUE

SOUTHLAND GROWERS FIRST SALE REALIZES OVER £300,000 SATISFACTORY AVERAGE INCREASE The wool sold at the first Invercargill sale on January 30 brought 2.56 d a pound more than that disposed of at the corresponding sale last year, j This was revealed by the total realization figures, which were released yesterday afternoon. The aggregate price was £309,873 3/4, compared with £164,478 0/7, the average a bale £l2 1/4 compared with £8 2/6, and the average a pound 8.76 d compared with 6.2 d. The total figure represents nearly double the aggregate for the sale on February 1. 1935. but the offering was a bigger 0ne—26,069 bales compared with 22,705 —and the percentage of passings much lower. Of the entry this year 25,680 bales were disnosed of, the total weight being 8,491,7731 b. Yesterday was a very busy day indeed for the commercial houses, a big sum of money being distributed to be passed into circulation. The average price a pound proved to be bigger than was generally anticipated by brokers, most of- whom predicted that the increase on last year’s sale would not greatly exceed 30 per cent. One or two estimates approached 40 per cent., and these were justified. The sale was undoubtedly a very successful one, the market being firm and giving every promise that steady rates would rule for the remainder of the series. _ The improvement this year was highly gratifying to growers, particularly in view of the fact that values at the first sale last year dropped substantially compared with those of the first fixture in 1934. The average price then was £l6 5/2 a bale and 11.7 d a pound. Second Sale Preparations. The handling of the first clip has kept hundreds of men fully employed, in many cases with overtime, at Invercargill and Bluf_. but most of it is cleared now and wool is coming in for the second sale on March 6. Prospects for a very full catalogue are excellent. In fact, it should be the biggest second sale held in Invercargill for some years. The quality is expected to be well up to standard, and since there is nothing to indicate that the market will ease, another satisfactory fixture should be the outcome. There is nothing, either, to suggest that values will increase much,'if at all, but the demand is being maintained and it is likely that there will not be a great deal of justification for a bigger percentage of passings ii. March. Growers would be well advised to send their clip forward as soon as possible now to expedite the preparations for the second sale. The remaining fixtures of the series are as follows: Date. Sale. Bales. To-day—Wellington 30,000 February 20 —Napier 28,000 February 24—Wanganui 30,000 March 3 —Christchurch 26,000 March 6—lnvercargill No limit March 11—Dunedin 28,000 March 16 —Wellington 25,000 March 20—Napier No limit March 24—Auckland No limit March 27—Wanganui No limit March 31 —Christchurch No limit April 3—Dunedin No limit April B—Wellington No limit