Wool Price Moves Being Studied

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30961, 18 January 1966, Page 15

Wool Price Moves Being Studied

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, January 17. The British Wool Federation is in close touch with a wool marketing study group in New Zealand which is trying to discover the reasons for the high rise and fall in wool prices.

The retiring president of the federation (Mr J. Hardy) said today the wool marketing study group was making an analytical and economic research survey. They were in close touch with the group through the wool textile delegation. “To this end, a small steering committee has been apnointed by the wool textile delegation, of which I am chairman, to supervise and advise the reseaithers who are dealing with this matter in the United Kingdom,” Mr Hardy said. “Twenty-five firms from all phases of the industry have been selected for questioning as a sample, and we trust that

they will give every cooperation to the economists who are carrying out this survey. “We have nothing to lose by co-operation in research work of this kind for it can only serve to demonstrate the superiority of the open auction system for wool disposal.” Mr Hardy said the federai tion also had formed a sub- ; committee of experienced men 1 to look into ways of improv- | ing the present Australian wool marketing system. Mr Hardy, who will be replaced by Mr D. Ackroyd, a director of the Bradford wool merchant firm of Ackroyd Brothers, said any proposals from the sub-committee would be forwarded to the authorities in Australia. Before Rejection He said that during the period before the rejection of the Australian Wool Board’s reserve price plan the federation had remained neutral, “indicating that this was a matter to be settled entirely in Australia but that we were not opposed to the marketing scheme, subject to certain safeguards, which indeed, the proposers of the scheme were quite willing to incorporate.'' “It remains now, therefore, to improve as far as possible, the present system of marketing wools in Australia and we have formed a sub-com-mittee of experienced men, to look at this and forward any proposals to the authorities in Australia,” Mr Hardy said.