THE BUYER'S CASE

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 43, 20 February 1930, Page 11

THE BUYER'S CASE

STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT

(By Telegraph.) (Special to "The Evening Post.")

CHBISTCHUECH, This Day.

Mf. H. T. Milnes, president of the New, Zealand Woolbuyers' Association, has made the following statement for general information: — "Judging by statements which have been" appearing in newspapers there is much misunderstanding about the attitudo. of the New Zealand woolbuyers. The position is this: Last year 590,217 bales wero'offered for sale in New Zealand. This year up to date roughly 272,000 bales have been sold, leaving approximately 318,000 bales to bo dealt with. Assuming that 25 per cent, of this total for various reasons will not be dealt with locally, it leaves 239,000 bales still to be offered. There are

thirteen sales still on.the- roster, which makes tho average por salo about 19,000 bales, and as several of these centres will not approximate the quantity, the average available at the larger centres should be still greater. As the season closes on 16th April (by which date many of the buyers will have loft or will be leaving the Dominion), it has been decided that all centres having more than one sale still to hold must offer at least 20,000 bales, otherwise they must wait until thoir next fixed salo date. "Only four centres aro concerned in this, namely,. Wellington,, Napier, Wanganui, and Dunedin. Tho Dunedin brokers state that they can quite easily offer tho. 20,000 bales necessary. The sales in, all the other centres, namely, Auckland, Christchurch, Timaru, and Invercargill, being cloaring-up sales, may offer any quantity, and the buyers will attend.' . , ■ MINIMUM OFFERINGS: "Buyers will attend every salo on tho roster in rotation provided that there is the minimum quantity. In case the minimum quantity cannot be offered, buyers will attend the next sale on tho roster. Wellington, with approximately 75,000 bales unsold to equal last year's total, is only prepared to offer 14,500, and state.they ,can only increase this by 1500 ball if the sale was postponed to.4th March, as was suggested by the Buyers' Association. "It has beer indicated that no catalogues will be offered in any centre until the small catalogues submitted by Wellington are sold. The buyers do not see why other centi;es_ should be penalised because of tho inability of Wellington to offer this quantity, and insist that all centres bo treated equally, and that if any centre cannot offer its quota tho next centre on the roster should have preference. This has not been agreed to, and the result is that at the moment there is a deadlock. THE RIGHTS OF BUYERS. "We. maintain the right of every grower to dispose of his wool as he wishes, and deprecate the -action of the brokers in holding up the whole sales of the Dominion. We also insist upon the right of every buyer to attend sales, only if it suits him to do so. If Wellington ' cannot or will not offer its quota it should not prevent other centres doing so. We estimate that, with the reduction of 25 per cent, which may not be offered, the following are the quantities which should be available at the various centres: Auckland, 17,000 bales; Wellington, 56,00.0 bales; Napier, 44,000; Wanganui, 37,000; Christchurch, 18,000; Timaru, 8500) Dunedin, 38,000; Invercargill, 17,000."'