STAPLE FIBRE

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 183, 30 April 1940, Page 10

STAPLE FIBRE

Substitute For Wool DANGERS FORECASTED By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. LONDON, April 28. Tbe use of staple fibre as a substitute for wool is now growing to such an extent that it is now feared that this material threatens serious eonsequeueeo for Australia and New Zealand alter the war. The International Wool Secretariat recently provided the wool trade with some most disturbing _ figures relative to the wide use of the libre. , , . Fur instance, the total world production of staple fibre for 1939 equalled the total in scoured wool production for the wlit.de of Australia and New Zealand. South Africa, Argentina, ana Uruguay for 1939. Production in the United _ Kingdom and consumption in the United States of staple fibre were both doubled last It is now certain that the effects of the war have been to increase the use of artificial wool many times over. Italy, Japan, and Holland have intensified their production of substitutes for wool. Business letters from Sweden say that. Germany has now entirely eliminated wool from fabrics which were supposedly manufactured from semiwool when they were ordered by 'foreign buyers. . One large American uitlJ is even now producing blankets containing 8o per cent, of staple fibre. One of the most disturbing aspects of the position is the development ot artificial wool sales in the United Kingdom. , . ~ Powerful combines, and notably Courtauld’s, are now pushing its production most energetically. Jailors all over the United Kingdom are being bombarded with most attractive samples for suitings, the material containing as much as 90 per cent, of staple fibre. It is understood that tbe Wool Control Board’s policy regarding issue prices and the release of supplies of wool to neutrals has been clarified to the satisfaction of the Australian and New Zealand representatives. Shipments from Australia and New Zealand are now apparently coming at. a remarkably high rate.

New Zealand House is issuing a statement pointing out that ‘‘the high prices reported as being received by South African wool growers can be explained largely by the fact that South African prices are quoted on a clean scoured basis. “Australian and New Zealand farmers have fared quite well under the United Kingdom bulk purchase.” Decisive steps have been taken to speed up the wool trade export drive on an unprecedented scale. During 1939, world production of rayon was 2,150,000,0001 b., of which staple fibre totalled 1,025,000,0001 b. Both totals are a record. The output, of rayon was 150 per cent, greater than 10 years before. Production of staple fibre was nineteen times more than the 1934 quantity. Those large quantities have not embarrassed the world's woollen textile trade. Probably, the large output of artificial fibres had a restricting effect on the price of wool before the war, but no surplus supplies of tbe sheep’s staple accumulated. In most consuming countries the supplies at June 30 last were less than normal. Cotton was niore affected, partly because of the competition of artificial fibres, but also because of the large production for some years, with the accumulation of excess stocks. It is estimated bv an English authority that the world will use 31.000,000 bales of cotton this season, and tbe carry-over next July will total 18,350,000 bales.