WOOL PRICES WILL PROBABLY HOLD FOR FIRST HALF OF THIS SEASON—DOUBTFUL LATER

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 94, 13 September 1948, Page 5

WOOL PRICES WILL PROBABLY HOLD FOR FIRST HALF OF THIS SEASON—DOUBTFUL LATER

Though he found no one in Britain willing to predict the course of the wooFmarket, Mr G. A. Duncan, Chairman of the New Zealand Wool Disposal Commission, who returned recently from London, heard opinions there tha«t prices would probably hold for the first half of 1948-49 but might not be maintained beyond then.

In giving this information to the accent annual meeting of the New Zealand Wool Board with its Electoral Committee, Mr Duncan said it was known that trade stocks had run down to about 7 months usage, with Merino stock lower relative to consumption than crossbred. (Rovernment owned stocks of apparel wool had been reduced by 50 per cent since 1946, whilst commercial stocks showed little change compared with 1946. During the past season South American wool had been cheaper than Dominion’s'wool, owing to limitation in demand caused by currency difficulties. “In attempting an estimate of the future of the market, it is a sobering reflection that in the three seasons 1945-46 to 1947-48, 21,000 bales of Dominions’ wool have been sold, representing 7,100,000 bales of stock wool and 13,900,000 bales of cmrrent clips,” said Mr Duncan. New Zealand stock wool held by the Joint Organisation at the end of June last amounted to approximately 800,000 bales, Mr Duncan continued, and its directors had decided, subject to alteration, that 350,000 bales of New Zealand stock wool should be offered during 1948-49. Of that total 150,000 bales would be offered in New Zealand and the rest in the United Kingdom. The outstanding features in the operation of the J.O. during the 1947-48 season had been the continued rapid reduction in the war-time stocks and the very satisfactory prices ruling in the auction sales. With only 800,000 bales of New Zealand wool remaining in stock, the review provided for in the Marketing

Plan to take place in 1950 became of major importance. “There are signs that growers in the three Dominions favour the establishment of a permanent Marketing Plan on the lines of the J.O. when the liquidation of stocks has been completed and it may well be that in 1950 the time is appropriate for discussions regarding this postJ.O. proposal,” commented. Mr Duncan. In a review of the capital position of the J.O. at June 30 last Mr Duncan said that in terms of the Marketing Plan, the New Zealand Government agreed to find, in four annual instalments, the capital represented by the half-interest it undertook to acquire from the United Kingdom Government in the net value of the opening stocks, in the event that the New Zealand Government one half share of sales of stock wool, less expenses, was insufficient to meet these capital commitments. The opening stocks were valued at £33,601,080 sterling, from which figure, by agreement of all parties, the .war-time profits on wool sold to countries other than the United Kingdom amounting to £6,956,370 sterling, were to be deducted. This left the net value of the opening stocks at the figure of £26,644,710 sterling. Thus the half interest of the New Zealand Government sn the opening stocks amounted to £13,322,355 sterling, and the four annual payments to £3,330,588 sterling. The J.O. operations had proceeded very satisfactorily, and sales had been made at a rate and at prices exceeding the expectations when the Plan was launched.