PROSPECTS FOR WOOL SALES

Southland Times, Issue 23676, 26 November 1938, Page 19

PROSPECTS FOR WOOL SALES

SERIES OPENS TODAY AT AUCKLAND UNCERTAIN OUTLOOK FOR MARKET Shearing is already well advanced in Southland, but as it is almost three months until the first Invercargill sale, little wool will be sent to the stores for some time. Wool is beginning to arrive fairly freely into the Christchurch stores as the shearing on the plains and the low country proceeds, but prospects for the new season, which will open at Auckland today, are obscure, states The Press. Values overseas have been exceedingly steady for a year, bu users still work on short stocks ana with the prevailing uncertainty oi international trade there seem to be no obvious grounds for hoping for'a substantial improvement immedi at The wool that has . reached the stores in Christchurch is in S en lighter in condition than it was last year, and much of the hogget woo is clean and bright, though some will probably show signs of tenderness after the hard conditions the hoggets faced in the autumn, and the wet weather of .June and July. The condition of the wool is, however, rather better than it was expected to be. Little, ewe wool has so far come in but indications are that it will be well up to average S The winter was fairly good for woolgrowing. During June and July there was excessive rain, but this was not late enough to make any great difference to growth. After that the weather, though cold, was reasonably unbroken, and later in the growing season there were no serious breaks such as caused damage to a lot of the wool produced in Canterbury last year. Feed was plentiful throughout the autumn, winter and spring. The Marlborough clip promises to be good, and the wool from other districts, judging by what has come in through the year on skins, should be up to the usual standard. Shearing has proceeded without serious hindrance. ,

HEAVIER CLIP

There is every indication that the clip this year will be considerably heavier than that of last year because of a rise in the number of sheep m the country, though the effect of the greater flock numbers may be modified by the condition of the wool and by such influences as the facial eczema outbreak in the North Island. In addition there is a bigger carry-over than for two seasons. Killings tor export owing to the unfavourable weather of last season, were considerably reduced, and this is in part reflected in ■' the increase of more than 1,000,000 in New Zealand flocks in the estimate prepared by the Department of Agriculture at the end of April. Flocks in New Zealand were then estimated at 32,396,000 against 31,305,000 for the previous year, and are therefore, higher than they have ever been before. The carry-over from last season was given at June 30 as 70,281, not a particularly heavy quantity, but enough to make itself felt in certain circumstances. For a year now, prices overseas have remained remarkably steady, and in London the levels this month are almost identical with those ruling for the same month last year, with coarse wools if anything a little stronger. Finer wools are less encouraging as they have not the stimulus of government purchasing for war purposes. The Australian levels are now lower than they were at this time last year.

GOOD DEMAND OVERSEAS

Demand at the London and Australian sales has been maintained very satisfactorily since the close of last season, and there appears to be a ready market for wool, but at a price which shows no inclination to rise. The Keneral trade outlook is not yet sufficiently encouraging to make users purchase heavy stocks, and indeed, most consuming countries have allowed stocks to fall to levels which in more settled time would have been regarded as most dangerous. Britain at present carries exceptionally light stocks of wool, particularly coarse wool, and recent purchases of raw wool in the United Kingdom by Russia may influence the trend of values here. The most uncertain operator is Japan in which New Zealand is particularly interested as a wool producer. Japanese purchases have been cut down rigidly for 18 months, and comparatively little wool was sent to Japan from the Dominion last season. There has been fairly substantial but erratic Japanese buying in Australia since the new season opened there, but the opinion in the wool trade in New Zealand is that Japanese buying here will most likely be even more restricted than it was last year.

FAIR GERMAN BUYING

The German wool textile industry has for many months been well occupied and German purchases in Australia have been steady and good in the last two months. Germany will probably come into this market relatively as strongly as it has come into the Australian market, but like Japan, Germany is liable to alter suddenly her purchasing policy as the condition of German foreign exchange holdings varies. The most discouraging sign is that though stocks are low in the. hands of manufacturers in most countries, and though wool has been steadier than it usually is over a long period, users seem disinclined to pay more than a given price for the raw material. The probability is that the increasing use of artificial fibres which are being produced more cheaply and efficiently as time goes on is the main limiting factor. There appears to be little ground for hoping at present that there will be any sensational rise in the price of wool in the immediate future though the wool market is subject to quick and strong influences. At its present price, wool ig not a particularly attractive proposition for the producer.