Chinese help wool prices

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 8, Issue 381, 9 April 1991, Page 7

Chinese help wool prices

After a drop in prices with the lifting of the government supplements, wool prices have recovered 60-70 cents in the last fortnight. This is partly due to overseas buyers coming back in particular the Chinese buyers who have been out of the market for the past two years. Local farmers and related industries have not seen the full impact of the lower wool prices yet as when the

government supplement was taken off in February the bulk of this season's wool had been sold, in December and January. It was mainly second shear two tooth and lambs wool remaining to be sold. The lower prices would impact on the community, farmers will have less money to spend on things like fertilising their farms. Some smaller farmers may consider shearing as an open shed rather than as a contract shed next season. Although

there is not a lot of second shearing of main flocks in the Waimarino farmers may decide not to do this as the wool may not be long enough and so the returns will not justify it. Farmers need to become a lot more conscious of wool preparation for future seasons as the extra time spent in the shed will be more than compensated for by the returns received at auction, said Elders Pastoral wool representative Jerry Trebelcock.

It is very important for wool growers to prepare the wool to the best of their ability to meet market demands, said Mr Trebelcock. Correct shed practises need to be looked at. Wool needs to be skirted and sorted to improve colour. It is important not to mix wools of different length variations. Length itself is very important preferably it should be between 3" - 4", as under 3inches it is heavily discounted. The Wool Board have

a free-phone for wool growers to ring to get an indication of the current market value of their wool. To do this the grower needs to know the length and yield of the clip and an indicator price can be given. From this the grower can decide whether to shear then or to wait a few weeks until the clip is longer with a likelihood of a better return. The freephone number is Napier 06-835-6130 or 06-835-6131. The basic indicator price is based on the previous wool sale prices and growers should be aware of what the market is doing, whether it is a rising or falling market.