YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2901, 13 October 1916, Page 8

YORKSHIRE LETTER

- EXPANSION OF THE EMPIRES WOOL TRADE .(From Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, August 10. ~... Tho commandeering of the British new .'clip is a matter .which in some respects . is outsido the palo of the colonial'wool.,selling interests, but ; its- effects-arc so _. farvreaohing that the .subject as m*ll- '• ..worth referring ■to in the light of its : „ 'bearing upon wool interesta generally, i'particulai-ly as it help 3 to emphasise the ,• importance of the part which this class ..of raw material is playing in supplying . [manufacturing requirements., It may bo '~;said hero that very great changes are " Jwing wrought./by the stops which have .been taJton,and new coaiditions will un'duubtodlY he brought into existence V; which will remain, more or less, oven iafter the immediate need for them has ceased... Old landmarks will bo torn up, , j and; businesses which have hitherto held ';.'■ (in important place in tho trade, and of ( £<>od reputation, iseom likely to lose , some of the independent standing which ■ ;.they have hitherto enjoyed. All this because the intorcsts of.the British -Empire fare at stako, and because tho Governiment is determined to prevent wool [prices advancing beyond a.-level which lean be shown to be of general adv-an-./tage to the trade, and to conserve the .wool supplies grown within the British' iEmpiro itself. There is no doubt that •' j something., can be said in favour of the argument that unless the British Govern..iment takes a definite step with.regard ■Ito the wool which is peculiarly its own, ••no sound objection could be raised .against the colonics sending their wool -to outsido countries. Even if this consideration is. left out of the question, a * careful study of the wool situation at •the present time reveals that whatever iform wool control nmy.take there is a • genuine need for it. ft is apparent that there is no more wool boiiig grown in ;• the world than is likely to be used, and ■'•an, entirely now aspect has been put /upon tho manufacturing end of the trade •■by the tremendous military requirements -which have had to bo 1 met. Tho question 'of supplies is even moro important than 'that of price, for it cannot bo too strong'ly emphasised that whatever the prico "■basis' ma£ be, tho need for wool will 'always remain as a persistent ■ factor, vlt should, therefore, be worth while to. "Moto some of the outstanding facts eviident in the wool-producing world to-day.

Vital Causes at Work. ■ .. ... ~ln the preceding paragraph the writer .:.has hinted at one of : tho fundamental ■reasons why such .determined efforts havo .teen inado •to control wool'prices at ■iHome, 'and this reason' is' one 'which . should appeal very strongly to the colonial end of tho trade, for whatever complaints may bo made' about tho unfalr- ■ Jiess of cutting off legitimate competition or preventing the growing and selling end of the trade from.making the • best prices which .would naturally result from competition being allowed to run its free course, - it is quite evident that there is no immediate danger of any '■ actual fnlling-off in tho general demand for wool. There has been an unprecedented and increasing demand far this article, this being so in spite of the fact that a very large percentage of the Continental demand has been, cut off. In "normal times this Continental demand has represented GO per. cent, of the colonial supplies, but tho demand made by . the armies of Great Britain arid her Allies' have been so great that the share of the world's wool taken by Germany and other Continental countries has.been quite readily used up, and besuTes this, etocks of wool held before the war have been greatly reduced. One'of the most significant facts in . this connection is that during the year 1915 the output of the wool textile ma- , .chinery of Great Britain was twice as much as it was before the commencement of the war. The enormous military requirements are very largely, re-' sponsible for, this, and when one con-' . eiders the heavy wear of clothing by 'ouri soldiers, it is quite easy to believe that such an increase in production should have taken place; Great Britain has, so' to speak, been made responsible for the safe keeping of much of the world's wool

ll' YOU HA VI) ANY HOAtE-SEPAE-ATED CREAM for Sale, we,should' bo pleased to buy. it. Our .local ami .export trade ,is increasing with : leaps and bounds, and we require more raw material. ■ We are out to give you an:honestdeal, and can guarantee you Correct: Test, Proper Weighty and Highest Price for any cream you send to us. Our price for butter-fat has never been less than anyi other company you lite to mention. Price is not everything in seliiig cream. We have now suppliers from Patea in one direction, Dannevirfcc, and Pahiatua in another, and Horopito up the Main Trunk Line. If you are within thesepoints, write us at once, and we will reply promptly. THE - MAORIXAND DAIRY CO., LTD., P.O. Box iBS, Wanganni,

textile industry. Tho consumption of tho raw material may have been greatly rednced on the Continent, but an outlet has been found for it in tho manufacturing machinery of this country. /The Gall Upon Colonial Supplies. Australia being one of the chief wool producing areas of the world, it is only natural that special interest should be directed towards it in relation to the quantity of wool which is produced in normal times, and the number of sheop kept. . From time to time drought has been a very serious factor in reducing tho number .of sheep, and consequently in. making the total quantity of wool grown during and, after; a year of drought, much less than it might have have been. It is calculated that during ■the year 1915 .between twelve and fifteen million sheep died in Australia through drought.- Besides this, supplies of wool to Europe were greatly reduced in consequence, of inadequate shipping accommodation. To this loss must bo added a certain quantity of raw material, which had been sunk in transit. Again, enemy countries have naturally endeavoured as far as possible not only to conserve their wool supplies, but also to augment them from any outsido Eourco possible.'. Yet another cause operating very .strongly in the wool market has been tlio large purchases made by America-in consequence of the increased manufacturing requirements of that country. Though there has been a great boom;at Home, the-American-manufac: turing trade has 'also participated, resulting in a proportionately greater demand for wool. . One of the chief sources of .'supply for'that country having been cut off, has. resulted in America buying a greater quantity of wool direct from Australia and South Africa, the purchases from the former being ten times greater in 1915 than they were before the war, whilst imports from South Africa, increased from 2000 to 150,000 bales.

The Position of the Central Powers. Having given readers some idea of the demand for and consumption of the raw material among the countries, cither neutral or interested in the Allies' cause, it will perhaps throw further light upon the subject- if somo figures be given showing the sheep stocks of the Central Powers. Before tho present war commenced< the number' of sheep in Germany was 5,450,000, the total in AustriaHungary being 12,330,000. These numbers were obviously quite inadequate to supply the clothing needs of the two countries concerned. Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro had about 12,850,000 sheep, Turkey about 21,000,000, and it may be quite reasonably presumed that the two. leading enemy Powers, Germany ■ and Austria, have drawn very largely upon tho sheep and wool supplies of the three former countries. Tho wool' will have been taken for manufacturing purposes, while any sheep available for slaughtering will have had to contribute to the- necessary food supplies. The greater proportion of the sheep in the three small countries named, as v.tell as in Turkey, jiro of a coarsewoolled type, but this cannot be expected to have had any great effect in preventing it being used in the mills of Germany for manufacturing purposes. The devastation in-Belgium and Poland must also be taken into account, while Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway have also contributed something to the supply of wool and mutton to the Central Powers. There has been a marked decrease.in the number of sheep in Denmark, statistics showing that /there are now in that country about 255,000, which is only about, one-half the normal figure. The slaughtering of sheep is bound to have its effect upon wool production later, for. it means not only the loss of so many, individual fleeces, but tends' to retard the increase of flocks upon which the wool-using- world depends for keeping pace'. with manufacturing requirements.

The Bradford Market. There is little now to report respecting the Bradford, market, though the attendance-on 'Change has. been larger than might have been expected. Very little ./actual business 'is ' passing,. and values are practically unchanged from the basis current; last week. Such demand for tops may be forthcoming is still' largely running on the lines seen : during' the past few.. weeks, '■ som.B firms reporting having had. a fair inquiry for merinos and fine crossbreds.. The prices asked .for these to-day .vary according to , the. position of' the individual maker, ,but there is no-doubt that greater -uniformity is noticeable. ~ The most -extreme figures have, now disappeared from the market, though it is still possible to'sell beyond, the actual measure of output.- There is also some little disposition to-realise stocks, which shows that there is still some little scope for variation in market price, and to-day a 64/s average may be put at 4a. sd. to 4s. 6d. per lb. Fine' crossbreds are quite steady, but the lower qualities are very slow, anything below 50's not finding a ready sale. Little can be said about English wool, old stocks are still firmly held, but the prices fixed for new wool are being looked upon with some dissatisfaction. .