Some 7576 of the total 11,000 bales on offer were sold at yesterday's South Island auction, marking the highest number offered and sold since the season started in July, AgriHQ said. Wool volumes fluctuate during winter and spring, especially in the South Island, often for weather-related reasons.
A more varied selection of bales was available compared with the previous week's North Island auction, as was usual for this time of year, AgriHQ said. Some 16.5% of the offering was for merino wool, 24% mid-micron, 24.7% fine crossbred and 18.6% strong crossbred. That compared with last week's North Island offering of 47.6% fine crossbred and 34.9% strong crossbred.
AgriHQ analyst Shaye Lee noted there was more activity for strong crossbred fibre compared with other wool types. The price for strong crossbred 39-micron wool rose to $5.15 a kilogram, from a 17-month low of $4.95/kg at last week's North Island auction and compared with $5.20/kg at the last South Island auction two weeks ago. The latest price was 6% below the five-year average and 14% weaker than levels a year earlier.
“Most of the bales passed in at the auction were reportedly from poorer-quality merino and mid-microns,” Lee said. “While finer merino fleece traded at a premium on the last South Island auction, coarser end ones traded at a discount.”
At the auction, 18-micron merino fleece rose to $16.20/kg from $16/kg at the comparable South Island auction two weeks ago, while 21-microns slipped to $13.70/kg from $13.20/kg.
Wool is NZ’s 16th largest commodity export, according to the latest trade data, which showed the value of wool sold overseas fell 11% in the year through July to $732 million.
