THE WOOL CLIP

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2936, 23 November 1916, Page 6

THE WOOL CLIP

SOLD TO IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT

PRICES BELOW LAST YEAR'S VALUES

WILL RETURN £14,000,000

TERMS TO BE SPOT CASH

Tho conforeuce of wool-growers which met yesterday at the invitation of tho Minister of Commerce (tho Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald) to consider the offer of the Imperial Government for tho present season's wool clip satisfactorily concluded its business snortly after 1 p.m. At about this hour the meeting decided to accept the Imperjal Government's offer, but there were still details to consider, which necessitated another meeting, and tho conference did not disperse until about 5 p.m. Not only did the growers meet, but also the brokers, the buyers, and the freezing companies. They sat Separately, and their conclusions have bearings on details of tho scheme rather than- on the essential fact of the sale at an agreed price. The Prices. A statement on the result of the conference_ was made after tho meeting by the Minister. \ • _ ' "The conference decided, after full discussion," said Mr. Mac Donald, "to sell to the Imperial Government at the prices offered. These prices will bo somewhat lower than those realised at tho 1915-16 sales. My Department has worked out certain . figures, and wo .estimate that the prices will be as under :— . ' d - Superior merino combings .... 18J-22J Medium to good merino 15J-17J Inferior merino 13J-14J Superior halfbred ' 18J-21J Medium to good halfbred 15J-18$ Inferior halfbred 14 -ISJ Superior crossbred 16J-18$ Medium to good crossbred .... 14 -17 Inferior crossbred 12 -14 Lincoln and Leicester 13J-16} Lambs, good 17 -20 Lambs, medium .'. 14 -16$ "Some of the growers estimate that these prices are more than 2d. per pound below present day. values. l As. to this, of course a great deal will depend on the valuations—how the different classes of wool work out as to quality. Met the Situation Loyally. "I think, on the whole, tho woolgrowers have met the situation loyally. It is a matter of great satisfaction for tho leaders of the Government to be able to. say that again the people of New Zealand have risen to the occasion, and havo, as_ always before, complied with, the wish of ' the Imperial Government. \ "There is still a great deal, of detail work to be done, in connection witii storage, brokerage, and valuations, but I hope within the next two days to have everything going, and in working order. The'trado will follow tho ordinary channels as far as shipping and storage space will allow. Terms of Sale. "The terms of sale are spot cash at the point of delivery after valuation. These points of delivery havo to be nominated by the Government, and they will very shortly be gazetted. The places named will be all ports at which valuations can be made. It has been suggested that tho number of valuing ports should be limited, but that matter is .still under consideration. It may be that there will be a big strain on storage space, and if so it may/iot be advisable to crowd all the wool into a few centres. _ There are also to be considered the interests of all the local people at the smaller ports, who have been preparing for the wool season in anticipation of handling their share of wool as usual. "It may be estimated, roughly, that New Zealand is getting £14,000,000 for this season's clip. It is true that there are not quite so many sheep this year, but owing to the wet season tho shearing has been delayed and the wool will be heavier. It is also probably in better condition as a general average than last year's clip. The Imperial Government will pay all incidental expenses such as storage, brokerage, valuing chaifges, and so on. The prices to the grower as quoted will be net prices. All the responsibility for providing freight has been undortaken by the Imperial Board of Trade. We sell the wool here, arid the Board of Trade will find the ships'to get it Home. "We are informed that a considerable quantity of wool from last season ( is still hero. We don't i know tho amount, but < I believe it is several thousand bales. It is uncertain yet how we are to deal with this wool." Prices in Other Years. In order that the significance of tho prices- offered may be fully understood the following prices realised at the January sales during tho past three years are quoted:— 1914. 1915. 1916. d. d. d. d. d. d. Superior merino combings 12 -MS 12 -13 15 -17} Medium to good . merino 9Mls 9J-105 .121-14% Interior merino .... 8J- 9i 7<V 8} 11 -12 Superior halfbred... 12 -14 133-145 181-21-Medium to good halfbred • 93-12 Ui-13 161-181 Inferior hfllfbred... 9 -10 9 -10J 13J-15% Superior crossbred 10J-12 121-14 IB -19} Medium to .'good crossbred : 9 -11 11J-13 16 -17? Inferior crossbred... 72- 9 9 -10} 125-15} Lincoln "and Leicester 82-10} 11 -123 15 -17J A Million Better. The offer of tho Imperial Government on this occasion as before was a percentage increase on the prices ruling immediately before the war. A week ago tho offer was a 45 per cent, advance. On this occasion it was a 55 per cent, advance, so that the offbr just accepted is about a million better than that rejected last week. The growers are very well satisfied with tho terms, but tii* objection is slUl mado that tho prices are not quite fair to tho producer of tho coarser sorts of,wool, and especially inferior crossbreds. It is ag'reed that the growers of fine wools, tlio men with good flocks, are getting much nearer to tho market price for their clip than the smaller men who grow the less fine wools. The conference yesterday went very much more smoothly than tho previous one. Work of Valuing. The' Minister lias still to meet the buyors to arrange with them about the terms on which they shall undertaka the duty of valuing tho wool. A proposal was adopted by the conference to givo any grower who considers his wool has been under-valued a right of appeal. Local committees are to be set up representing farmers' unions, A', and P. Associations, and such bodies of farmers, and these committees will elect an cxccutivo committee to deal with any such complaints. Thcso local committees will bo established at the ports gazetted as poilts of delivery, and tho idea is that through the local executive a farmer may arrange for an independent valuation of his wool. For this independent valuation tho farmer will have to pay. There is no proposal that this latter valuation mußt inevitably bo accepted by tbo Govern-

ment as {He basis of payment. What the procedure will bo in such cases is still indefinite, _ and nothing can be done finally until the points of delivery are dotermined, and tho local committees havo been appointed. Brokers' charges. The brokers' charges are slill to be settled, jbut the settlement of them has beep left to a committee of throe representatives of the brokers and the Advisory Board to tho Ministry of Munitions, of which the members are Messrs. A. H. Miles, A. Macintosh, and G. Wilson, a body of men who' know a good deal about the wool business. The brokers offered last week a flat rate of fd. per lb., and as an alternative they set out tho rates they would be prepared to accept for the different services to be rendered by them. One of the unknown quantities to be estimated in these services is that of storage. The wool may have to stay hero a long or a short period, and probably in tho event of tho flat rate offer being the ono accepted, some limit will bo_ asked for by the brokers on the period of storage to be covered bv that rate. The Only Way. Experience has shown that this method of purchaso outright by the Imperial Government is the only method by which the Empire's wool can bo. secured for the exclusive use of the Empire. Previously the Government has imposed an embargo on the export of wool to destinations other than tho United Kingdom. This embargo would have been very easy to maintain if thero had always been ships available to take tho wool to that destination, but when no such ships were available it did prove a very difficult matter for the Government to resist demands that shipments of wool, small perhaps individually, but considerable in tho total, should be allowed to be put on ships for other countries., These other countries have always wanted the wool, and still want it very badly, for, as~"tho prevailing high prices show most clearly, there is a heavy shortage in tho world's wool production. This makes it of infinitely greater importanco to tho Empire to secure its own wool for its own uso. 'A CANTERBURY RESOLUTION. By Telegraph—Press Association. Christchurch, November 22. Tho North Canterbury Executive of the Farmers' Union to-day discussed the wool question, and carried the following resolutions: —"That this executivo strongly objects to the embargo placed upon the export of New Zealand wool, dnd is of opinion that wool sales should havo been held as usual, with the proviso that all wool should be shipped to tho United Kingdom, and that the Imperial Government should then have taken whatever it required at tho current market rates. That this executive is. of opinion that the offer made by the conference is fair aud just, and should have been accepted by tho Imperial authorities, and strongly urge its representatives to agree to it."