PREFERENCE FOR COARSER GRADES.

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 156, 30 December 1938, Page 10

PREFERENCE FOR COARSER GRADES.

The Christchurch sale was approached with more than usual interest, as it is usually the first occasion when sufficient halfbred and merino wool is offered to establish a market. At the North Island fixtures there had been a noticeable preference for coarser grades. Buying was strong and animated, and, while values were below the first sale in 1937, when levels ruled which were above the market, no ground'was lost from the previous auctions. Values at Timaru remained very firm, and passings were less than 5 per cent. Prices remained firm at Dunedin, but in some cases growers were not inclined to meet the market. In spite of this a clearance of 90 per cent, was made and competition was well spread. While it is evident that growers will not receive the almost boom values of the 1936-37 season, there is every indication that the final cheque will exceed that of last season. The chief satisfaction lies in the fact that wool is wanted by the majority of the overseas markets, and farmers who have already offered their clips have found ready purchasers at prices which must be regarded as fairly satisfactory. AUSTRALIA'S INTERNAL DEMAND. The large purchases of wool in all markets this season can certainly be accepted as an indication of consumers' faith in the present level of values, reports Winchcombe, Carson, Limited, Australian woolbrokers. That confidence has been maintained in face of more or less continuous international j difficulties. The consumption of wool in Australia has reached influential dimensions in recent years. During 1937-38, the total quantity bought at the sales by Australian millmen, carbonisers, and scourers was 332,179 bales. The average for the five pre-war years ending 1913-14 was 79,000 bales. Last season, the United Kingdom and France were the only consumers whose purchases exceeded those made by Australian manufacturers. If Australia had twice its present population, the buying operations of the local mills would indeed be an invaluable factor. "We look forward with confidence to New Year sales," the company adds. "A marked advance in prices is not anticipated, but the chance of improvement in values as the sales progress is a possibility, particularly as the supplies available for purchase in all States except Queensland give promise of being practically exhausted by the end of March."