WOOL SELLING AND WOOL BUYING.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1643, 9 January 1913, Page 4

WOOL SELLING AND WOOL BUYING.

LEVIN AND CO,''S, LTD., STOEE. i v ' ( . . ( V ■' : .. " o o « o o o : o o' o

INCREASING POPULARITY OF THE LOCAL SALES.

A STORY.' OF PROGRESS.

SUCCESS OF THE LOCAL WOOL SALES.

WHY THEY ARE FAVOURED.

The frig consumptive demand for wool of all grades and descriptions at present is almost insatiable, and sellers and'buyers aliko were in force at yesterday's local sale.' Of iate years the advantages of selling locally have been realised, and yesterday's catalogue figures constitute a record' hardly dreamed of when local selling first entered into competition . with consignment to London. Tho Woolbrokers' Association lias played an important part in 'the growth of the local wool sales, which sales have now {frown to dimensions which are large and which are still expanding. The growers in the Wellington Province were |ate in realising the value to them of the local sales, but. when once they did sec what was ahead they came forward enthusiastically, and few, if any, who have sold locally have departed frota the practice. The facilities existing in Wellingr ton for the handling of wool apd nil farmers' produce are exceptionally good, The Harbour Board is not only able to provide the shipping facilities, but they have a great storage accommodation which: is seldom overtaxed, In fact, the shipping, banking,' and insurance facilities existing ■here are unrivalled anywhere. Before the formation of .the Woolbrokers'. Association' the conditions pf gelling were on somewhat the same lines as they are to-day, but the present; fine organisation was lacking. Something oyer a quarter pf a century ago the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agenßy Co. .commenced holding sales' in a small way, and • they were' followed by Messrs.' Levin end Co. Subsequently the Woolfrrpokers'. Association | was formed - as it was; recognised that there must be ft uniform, day of sale and stylo of selling. The first chairman of the npw fipurishing association was Mr. John Duncan, and Mr. A. E, Mabin was the first!secretary. In the early days of the operations, onlytwo or threo sales were held, and an. offering of 2000 bales was considered highly, satis-, factory.! The attendance and competition Was in proportipn to the offering, and the 1 buyers comprised some three or four English representatives and the local fellmongers. Amongst tie earliest operators were Messrs. Swift and-Co. and Mr.' Walter Hill. The offerings were ; of 'a I mixed nature, but none of: tho best clips were handled, as, at the beginning, grow- | ers apparently considered that selling locally was beneath .their dignity. Time;, liowovef, has wrought a great chango in ■fiy'direction, and a visit to the various storerooms, tc-day' will 6how some of tho very best clips in tho country on offer. Local selling.had its ups and downs before'' it was firmly established, and for many years it Was guided by the Hotue market. If the market 6howed a jiunp in ." prices heavy. consignments cf wpoi. wpuld ,c6me in for the 6ale, but if there was a falling, market the'local sales were left to take care of themselves. 'To-day, however, the position is different, and the local 'sales are how events in the farmers' rear, and have shown a: steady growth pf late vears which has convinoed the farmer that the price pffered here is, beyond doubt worth taking. There is now on absolute assurance of oxcellent competition at this end, and that the market Is as solid and'substantial I here as any of the markets pf tho yrorld. T)ie buying strength' at the New Zealand sales is W great nowadays that, 'as a matter of fact, London watches Cclonial markets far more than the Colonial markets watch London. The day has arrived 1 when the Colonial market has set the pace fp'r tho wool wprld, a happening which lsi welcomed in most quarters, but still combated by a few conservatives, As. things: stand the farmer sells his wool near the producing market, and the consumer buys it here ana distributes it to each of his centres at a minimum cost, Again the fact that, in addition to the certainty of ( a sound market, he can handle money in , fourteen days after the pale is attractive lo the'farmer, and the war risk, strike risk, ctc., are practically non-existant as far as he is concerned. As a result of a sale like the one held yesterday a huge sum of money is distributed. Taking an average of '- tho :wpol offered yesterday, one well-known : merchant stated'that something like .£400,000 would be distributed amongst' farmers. In addition to . this a large amount pf money incidental to the sal'es is, of cpiirso. exponded hero instead of jn Lpndon, and em-

ployment is found for & big body of men during the yooj season.- . . . .. ■Some idea of what the local sale§ mean to Wcllingtqn may be gleamed from tho amount of capita} invested in wopl store? by tho various firms. This, according to one authority, approaches J2100.000, and it has to ba remembored that for about nine months in the year these stores are idle, Alessrs. Dalgety and Co., Levin and' Co., Murray, Roberts and Co.. the New Zealland Loan and Mercantile, and Messrs. Abraham and Williams all have their own stores. Messrs. James Macintosh arid Co., who have only recently entered the arena, have not their own stores, but they have an arrangement with Messrs. Abraham and Williams whereby they show their wool in that firm's stores, The United Farmers' Association and the Wairarapa Fanners' Association, both old-established firms, use the Harbour Hoard, ''B"j3tore, the top floor of which has an excellent light, and is situated at the head'of the wharf. : • • ''The proportion of growers who aro send-; ing tliei'r wool Home nowadays is steadily decreasing both jn Australia and' in ( New. Zealand. At the'present time I the biggest growers in Australia and about 80 per cent, of the total are selling locally. As recently as 1907 a'New Zealand Woolbrokers' Association was formed to en-' courage a like condition of affairs throughout New Zealand, regulate sale dates, etc. This body is now the controlling body "for tho sales fill over the Dominion; cach working through its Jocal asSocintion; The branches pf the New Zealand Association are sjtnuted in Wellington, Chrjstchurclv Napier. Timarii, Invercargill, Dunedin, 1 Auckland, and Gisborjio, and ■ frpm the amount pf business transacted by : fno: association it is almost,essential for consumers who desire the first pick of New Zealand'wools to attend.thjs tji&rkef;, ;. * As stated above, tho trend - throughout Australasia is to cell locally, and that this has been.Tecopiised i 6 evidenced by the increasing number of representatives of i-nglish, American, and Continental buyers who regularly appear'at the locnl pales. The total offerings at Wellington main; gales last year weroyis under:— ■ : Bales. ' November 1911 10J4 ,December 1911 ; 0898 January 1912 .v................ 17,466 « : Fobruary 1912 18,729 ' March 1912 ; 3735.' ■ . ' Total 42,640 As things stand at present it looks certain that heavy figures will ba plaoedon record this year. Tho usual November sale was hot field this season because of the latfc ness Of the season and the delay in tho shearing, The.first sal? took place in December when' 10527 bales were offered, and yesterday's total was 25,905 bales—9 recor4 —made, up as under;—Dalgety, and C 0.,. 7595;lievin and Co,, 6026; Murray Roberts and Co., 4750; New Zealand Loan and Meiy pantile,'?Blo j Abraham and Williams, 2850 j United • Farmers and Wairarapa Farmers,' iSSOr told James Macintosh l and Co.; 344. 'The catalogues offered at the'local spies since 1892 give a fair indication oftfie vol: iimoof business transacted by tho Wellington: Woolbrokers" Association, and the growth of the business up to the present time, The approximate figures are:— Season, .•*.•''• Dales, 1893,1893 3720 18934891 2314 ' '1894*1895 i,' 3583" ' 1895-1896 ■ ■ 0725 ; 1898-1897 ' 13,932 1897,1898 11,884 1898-1899' 5150 i 1899-1900- 18,182 '1900-1901 ...„ 6989 ' 1901-1902 5101 ; 1902-1905 8638 1903-1904 10,734 1904-1905 ..,..1...: ..19,487 ; <1905-1906 ■ 30,269 1906-1807 ................ 24,532 1907-1908 13,073 •• 1908-1909 41,952 1909-1910 53,783 ' 1910-1911 43,467 • 1 1911-1912 42,840 *1912-1913 . (to date) 36,833 ♦There are still two sales to.'coqe qpd' swell the 19)2-13 figures.

FARMERS' RESERVES, ' ' Di&cussjnjj the question of the Reserves; placed on wool at the local sales, a farmer who was present at yesterday's sales paid a tribute to the valuing done by the bvoki era.', _ The woolbi'oker, lie, said,' tloos tho valuing here, and puts a fair value oil tho wool, but growers V e not always Iguided by ■ their broker, but prefer :to 4* their own reserve, which is frequently too high; The fanner frequently fails to realieo that the varying condition of the wool; must guide the prioe.' At the December 'sales, for .instance, the wool'was free from grease and in a light condition, but at yesterday's salo the wool had several weeks grease in it, and, consequently, a shade lower-price had to l.ib allowed for. 'fho broker invariably took/this into consideration, but'the farmer t]i<l ngt, hence his extreme reserve. * I am brpa4 ? nau|fh to see that the broker; in fixing his value, is free from prejudices which I have, and every farmer has, added the speaker, und that being so, lie can judge the wool on jts merits (ind come very close to its truo value. My experience, sqid our iuformant in conclusion, is that tile farmer is better when guided by his broker then when he goes blind oivhjs own. When I fixed a reserve tho wool; was passed in, and when I wanted ( to sell it later I could not' 1 get the pries'which was offering when I withdrew it.

; ; NEW ZEALANP SALES.' DATES FOR THE REST OF THE YC \li Tho dates for the balance of the season's wool sales are:— . • , 1 January 13 Christehurch January J7 Invercargill January 23 Dunedin January 25 Ttni?ru January BJ.' Auckland ' February i Napier February 7 Wellington February 13 ........... Christehurch February 19 .' Dunedin ' February 21 .............. Invercargill February 28 Tlpiaru •March 4 Wellington <

•—:—-4-—;— PRICES EASIER. THE REPORTS BY THE BROKERS. Tho wool sale held in Wellington yesterday was a record. Altogether about 25,000 bales were catalogued by the several brokers, which is a record for Wellington, and tho individual offering of' 75 I JS bales by Dalgety and Co., Ltd., is also a record. It is also one of the largest singlo catalogues so far offered in tho Dominion. Tho salo was fixed to begin at 8 a.m., and just before tho hour the auctioneers and their clerks, and tho buyers assembled in full force, and when the eale commenced 1 the benches were well filled, and the buyers showed u disposition to do business. The "basking" was sharp and continuous, and the sale went along merrily. _ Many wool growers came into town over-night to ho\t; prices moved, and many jnore j

came down by the early trains'with tlio satho object in view, • ... I The wool was mostly heavier in.comU- | tion' than that offered at the December sales, and there was a lair quantity ot shabby wool., ,I'rioes were not on n parily with the December sales by fully a farthing per lb., and in some instances by more. Heavy-conditioned wool was less by Jd., and wool of the same light, description os in December was about a farthing lower. , The reports of the several brokers give a very,clear idea of.tho tone of. the sale and tho trend of prices, and these' are appended:—. Dalgety and Co.. Ltd. Messrs. Dalgety and Co. report:—The second Bale ot tho soason was held in tho Town Hull yesterday, whon tho largest catalogue over olTOred by the Wellington Associated Brokers was submitted to buyers, the total number of bales offered (being 25,855 bales, 6155 bales more than ot tho corresponding ealo last ficnsdli, Our proportion of tho totol offerings was - 7571 bales, which is a record offering for tho Dominion. Owing to the spell of dry warm weather which wo enjoyed at tho end of December and the beginning of January, farmers were enabled to complete their Bhear-

I ing, and tlic wool was sent to Wellitigtoil , by rail nnd steamer ia euoh largo quantb . ties that tb« receiving sheds became so coa» | axis tod that delivery was only possible nil- | tier tho greatest. difllcultlctf, and the re suitwas that brands .became" mixed, and : i oomcquontly it was impoEe-iblo to obtain delivery of portion of .our consignments in.:, time to include in tho catalogue. tVo an« . ticipate thereforo that several of our - ' clients will bo disappointed at their clips ■ not tippoaring iu tlio catalogue, but, as already explained, this has occurred through. ; no fault of tho brokers, and we bona that 'offerings at the February file will moot, with « similar demand as experienced to» ; l day. ■ - '' ' Tho wool catalogued consisted mainly e| ' strong erossbrod alld bush-stained wool; o tlicro being vory few. light, bright, Horn.' ney dips in evidence., As usual wo liad a' number of halfbred merino clips from our Marlborough- clients, but, owing to qua\- ' ity not comparing favourably • with last wagon's, prices wero cot equal ,to previous realisations. ! • : The ottendaaco of buyers was, aaiq . previous solos, very large, oiid ronrescnteo all sections of the trade. »liocal biiyort wore also strongly represented, • and coma ~ petition was keen for all lines offered. . . Market.—Prices'for al! iiunlit.ins of r,cr>r4 were easier by id. to id. per. lli.i; as,com» A pored with tho December ;salo' rate*, Lambs' wool was in evidence in this salt, and wna keenly competed for at mac^