The crossbred wool market fell 50 to 60 cents clean at the first sale of the new season, a correction PGG Wrightson wool auction manager Dave Burridge says few in the trade saw coming.

He says after a year of gains, buyers turned selective.

“The good times we thought would continue have certainly come down with a bit of a thump,” he says.

“I don’t think any of us anticipated the significant drop that we did see in one single sitting.”

The fall hit second-shear and lambs’ wool coming through the North Island peak flow, after prices rose faster than at any point in his 40 years in the job.

He says adjusted levels still make for good selling.

“The fundamentals are that there is still a shortage of wool, and certainly good demand coming out of China.”

Merino and mid-micron sections remain strong heading into the season.

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