The Country 05/02/26: Rachel Shearer talks to Jamie Mackay

PGG Wrightson’s GM of Wool reviews a market on the up and up!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Rachel Sharer is the GM of PGG Rights and Wall. Look,
this is a good news story, all that coming from
a low base, the recovery in wall, especially strong wool
and Rachel, I remember back to your predecessor, the late
Grant Edwards, great bloke that he was, and in those
COVID lows, I think it was about twenty twenty one,
I said to Grant, look an all, honesty, mate, I

(00:20):
don't think we can do a Wall report because it's
too depressing. We're just going to get negative feedback. He
battled his way through that You've been lucky to pick
up the ball and run with it. Gee, the wall
market has improved from those terrible lows.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah, it certainly has, and we're really grateful for that.
There's a lot of a lot of contributing factors, that's
for sure. But you know, at the end of the day,
New Zealand sheep farmers deserve for their wall toy to
be worth even more than what it's what it's worth
at the moment. But all the indicators are that we're
hitting in the right direction. So still always then cautiously optimistic,

(00:56):
because the good news is that it's sort of it's
holding at these at these values, which is the most
important thing, you know what it's like. Yes, something goes
up fast, it can come down quickly too.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
Strong wall prices have risen approximately thirty plus percent in
the past year. But here's the interesting stat and this
goes back to Grant's days. It's risen. The price of
strong wall has risen threefold since the COVID lows the
real lows of January twenty twenty one.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Yes, and it couldn't have got much lower, that's for sure.
So no, we're very, very pleased that in a relatively
short period of time the trajectory of wall has you know,
I think it's around eighty percent increase since twenty twenty
two the strong wall price. So long that continue on

(01:44):
the output momentum.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
And yesterday's sale at where was that napier nake? Yes, Oh,
we won't about to say that for much longer. We'll
come back to that one. But so yesterday's sale ninety
nine percent clearance, strong indicator up fourteen cents, and this
is despite an exchange rate at sixty and a half
US cents.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yes, we were watching that with interest, thinking it may
have a greater impact than it did. But look, the
bidding from the exporters is still evident. They're still competing
to secure walls for you know that really prompt delivery.
They're still taking orders. China particularly really active in the
market at the moment. So once again that the market

(02:29):
was up. It is also you know up in the
North Island the good color wolves kind of start to
come off now. So with that limited availability, classic supply
and demand, that's where that's where the main improvements were.
But once again, even oddments, you know, the significant increase
and all the stuff that once upon a time you

(02:51):
may have chucked away, that some of the oddments are
reaching prices nearly similar to those of not such well
presented fleeces.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Oh, I was reading that the oddments up twelve percent,
four dollars sixty clean. That's ridiculous because as you say,
during those real lows, bellies and pieces, it wasn't worth
bailing them up.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
No, and even this time, you know, six months ago,
the four dollars sixty one was what we were getting
for good style leases. So yeah, there's still a significant
improvement there, and that's because those oddments, those bellies and
pieces get blended and with the rest of the wall
and made into products. So you know they're using that

(03:32):
traditionally to try and lower the price that those prices
are increasing because of once again limited supply.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
Okay, really quickly to finish on we mentioned the sale
in Naper yesterday. You're going to go to a single
selling center. I think it happens in what May. So everything,
all the weekly sales will be out of christ Church.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
That's right, well, fortnightly sales and weekly during the peak
season will be out of christ Church. And the reason
behind that is really to get as many buyers as
can in a room, you know, looking at the wall,
appraising the wall, and then they get into the room
and they fight like cats and dogs over that wall.
And also I think we've mentioned before Jamie, the buyers
that come across from Australia who really add impetus to

(04:13):
the bench. They're quite happy to fly into our international
airport here. And so at the end of the day,
we want to get our hard working New Zealand farmers
wall in front of the many people who are prepared
to fight to buy it. So that's the key reason
that we'll be holding it down here down here in
the South Island. But the North Island growers will see

(04:34):
no difference and no change, just their wall will be
presented to farm more buyers.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
Okay, and good luck to all those sharers and wall
handlers this weekend who are looking to join Tyer Henderson
and Joel Henna and our team to compete in the
World Championships alongside the Golden Shares and Masters in early March.
Might see you there. Thanks for your time, Rachel, Thanks Jamie,