RISES IN WOOL VALUES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 87, 29 April 1937, Page 15

RISES IN WOOL VALUES

Manufactured Goods Affected MARKET STILL HEALTHY Rises in raw wools have been so marked that the public must expect to pay considerably enhanced prices for woollen goods in the coming winter from those it paid in the winter before. Wholesale houses estimate in the case of blankets, for example, that a 35 per cent advance has taken place between the wholesale prico at which customers bought for last winter and th© price at which they could secure stoeks to-day. In standard lines from which such estimate was made it was ascertained that the advance from three months ago was 17} per cent. In taking the present price it was pointed out that smce the New Zealaiid mills had made their quotations there had been a rise in the types of raw wool they use of approximately 1-Jd a 1b. Such dearer wool would - not come into this winter' s woven supplies, but into the 1938 winter stocks, in respect of which wholesalers will generally start lodging orders next spring. „

Bradford Tops At present the Bradford tops market is very strong for all types, and that at this time of the year, just a month or two before the opening of the new seiling season in Austraha, is a most encouraging sign." In addition to the supplies for internal use the Dnited Kingdom is easily the foremost exporter of wool tops, and the experts are increasing. The wool intelligence notes iasued recently by the Imperial Economic Committee gave much useful data concerning the exports of tops, not only from Britain but from France, Germany, and Belgium. Exports of tops ffom Britain, which had fallen to a low levei in June. increased steadily in the second half of

1936, and in December amounted to 5,200,0001bs, eompared With 4,200,000 lbs in the same month a year before. Th© total exports for the year were 52,000,0001bs. Exports from France in* CJ-eased greatly following the devalua* tion of the franc, and there was a substantial increase in the exports from Belgium dufing the second half of 1936 eompared with the same period of 1935. Altogether the exports of tops from these four manttfacfcurittg countifies last year amounted to about 120,000,0001b. Then there is the important yarn export trade, in which Britain leads easily also, but it is the tops market to which We are referring at the moinent. Have you notieed how rarely the published reports of the Bradford wool topg market indxcate any special activ--lty or bouyant features? asks R8V.B. in the Australian. As a rule the market is reported to be "quiet." Even when the tiiarket for raw Wooi has been particularly active, and tops have responded, the eable messages usually include some qualifying statement to suggest that the eurrent rates may not last. It is a comtnon thing to read something like this : — "The Bradford tops market is firm, but very' little business is passing," and sometimes when high prices are ruling, particularly lor the lower couats, the quotations are rcferred to as "nomiual". This is all very well, aud ddubtless the reports are .perfectly accutate reports, but they are stereotyped, and the pomt I woufd make is that anything of a very encouraging nature on top of the prices quoted is seldom passed on for consumption in the woolproducing countries. And it is the Bradford tops market that sets the standard of raw wool prices. It may be contended that the tops market inoves according to the fluctuations of raw wool. That is not exactly the case. We should remember that the makers of tops ar© the buyers of wool, and although they may be obliged to folloTv the market for their raw material occasidnally, as in times of scarcity, more often than not they can influence the raW WGdl market by the volume of their buying operatiOxis. U.S.A. Wool clip. - There seems to be little prospect of increasing the domestio (U,S,A.) clip to any marked degree, said Mr O. J. Fawcett, generai manager of the National .Wool Marketing Corporation, at the annual convention of the national woolgrowers5 convention a few weeks ago, Texas is about the only section of . the country that is showing an increase in production. That part of Montana east of the ftocky Mountains, North and South Datoka, sections of Wyoming, . Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska have been seriously depleted of flocks. It is considered that the production of greasy wool in the United States will not greatly exceed 350,000,0001bs., equal to about 1,130,000 Australian bales. for some years to come, and it is a fair assumption that consumption will also be about 100,000, OOOlbs. in exqess of production. One of the most important factors, therefore, pertaining to the industry in America is to have the assurance that the domestio market for wool will be preserved. The existing tariff is the most scientific and effective that growers have had, Mr Fawcett claimed. He stated also that any reciprocai trade treaty with a foreign country involving wool where a lowering of the duty is effeoted, notwithstanding the strength of foreign wool, would seriously interfere witb values in th* domestio market. The import duty at present is 34 cents a clean pound, and reflects a greas© pound duty of 21 cents to "23 cents a pound on wool of about 56's count, of the type similar to the American three-eights grade wool. It is fearcd that attempts may be made to induce the Goverument to lower the wool duties, and Mr Fawcdtt advised all interested in woo] production in America to resist such attempts. There is another viow, however, and that is the view that the heavy import duty is eausing manufacturers to blend synthetie fibres with wool. ihe tendency is to mahe up the shortage of' 'domestio wool by substitutes, and this

will be to the detriment of the wool* growing industry. The estimated shortage of the domestio clip is equivalent to more than 300,000 Australian bales. The Government might well allow a considerable quantity of foreign wool into the country duty free, or without affecting the demand for local wools. Indeed, if foreign wools ari prevented from entering the Amerlean market exeept under heavy duties, the demand for woollens- may decline, becaus© the eost of materials made of wool will be too Costly for the mauses, who will soon change over to substitutes. a wooi Question Why do different part of the sheep produce different qualities of wool? That is a question frequently asked today. It was asked years ago and answered by Alfred Hawkesworth in his admirable "Australian Sheep and Wool." No single sheep, said Hawkesworth. will grow a wool of the same quality throughout; neither are there two tleeeces exactly alike in the millions of sheep of Australia. The front part of a sheep always produces the fiuest wool. Within the breast, shoulders, and brisket this machinery is continually at work throwing off moisture, beat, and perspiration. This moisture keeps the bones light, soft, and porous, they being of naturally a fine character throughout the front half of the sheep. The flesh surrounding this light bony formation will be found to be fitte in grain or finer that other parts of the body. Then it will be found that the skin encircling the front half of the sheep is thin, fine, and elastic, yet strong. * In these circumstances it is but reasonable to claim that in accordance with the laws of Nature the wool covering grown on this part 6f the body must also be finer than on other parts. Down towards the hiud part of the sheep we find the bones, flesh, skin, pr pelt gvadually but certainly getting coarser. Take a leg of mutton and compare it with a slioulder; there is a marked difference ■ the flesh of th© leg js much coarser in the grain, and a similar difference iB found in the bones, Again, look at the difference in the nature °f the pelt; that of the briteb or leg wxll be found to be ooarse, thick, spongy and by no means strong, while the pelt of the shoulder will be fine, pliabloj sound, and will stand tension. i