FARMING AFFAIRS

Chronicle (Levin), 29 August 1946, Page 2

FARMING AFFAIRS

column.is suppfiecU weekly by' Fcdei'Lited Farmers of 'N.Z. Tlie inTormaLion' g-iveu Is official, but any views expressed are . those oi* Uie Fedcration ancT are not necessarily those of this newspaper.) Wire Supplies Sliort The supply position of wire for farming purposes is becoming iucreasiugiy diitieuJt. Of ihe tonnage recpiired in 1945, uver .b'OUU tons havo still. to bo supplied from overseas anj, in the opinion -of the trade, it will be at least tiro years before supplies in any quantity are available. This information was given to tho press department of Pederated Farmers in Wellington this veek by the managing direetor of Wire Distributors, Ltd., the. buying and distributing orga'uisation of the various merchant eoinpaiiies. A London press message earlier this month, he said, had statcd that Britain was unable to let New Zealand have more tluiu six per eent. of her stoel reqmremcnts and that supplies of stoel sheet and wire would be iimited. As the Doininion importers ot' all feueing, hay-baling and wool-dumping wire, his eompauy had known for some time that the supplv position woulxl becoine iucreasiugiy ditjicult. The i>ositLon had rapidly (leteriqrated in recent montlis largely because of c.oal shortages and because of industrial troubles overseas. Orders placed bv the eompauy prior to the emi oi' tlio war had not yet been supplied in J'u 11. Of the tonnage required during 1915, the following had still to come to luind: — 3698 tons oi' plaiu galvanised feueing wire. 60(1 tons of baling wire. 600 tons of barbed wire, e.\ overseas. 1502 tons of barbed wire, locnl manuf'acture. (8ome of the above had been orderod in 3[av, 1945, and the balance at various dates as supplies bccame available. ('anada had supplied 50 tons of wiri: during 15)15-46, Australia oniy 110 tons, and Ihe Uniled Kingdom but 18.65 tons. Sevoral hundred tons of liarbing wire had, in uddition, been received from tJur L'nited Kingdom and had been niade in New Zealand into barbed wire. Of ihe quantities still to be supplied, the coinpany had been advised tliat it might e.xjn'ct part deliverv only during 19-16. Additional orders not yet uccepted and being 1946 requirements wero as l'ollow: — -16.", 2 tons bjivbed wire .1667 tons baling wire 8886 tons feueing wire There seemed litlle hope of any country aceepting orders for that amount of wire in 1947 or earlier. Coulact had betn madp with all c.ountries likely to bo in a position to supplv, iuidudinu ada, the U.B.A., the United Kingdom and Australia. The eompauy had placed the posilion before the C!o vernnieuL and ncgotiations were now taking place with the aulhoritios coneerning the importancc of wire siqiplies in the pYesont drivc lor increased food production. (.'onsiderable quantities were also required lor the rehabiJitalion of soldiers who wero being placed on properties being cut u p by the Btate. For soiue time barbed wire had been supplied mostly from surpluw Ariny and Air lorce stocks, but those had, except lor a few small dumps, now been dcared up. Practically all surpl.ns I'encing wire purcliased from the 1'aciJic liad m>w been cousumed. lu s'hort, tlie position was that New Zealand niust now rely on overseas markets for all its wire.* The trade believed that it woukl be at least two years beiore supplies in any quantitv were available.