WOOL DEALINGS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 135, 8 May 1940, Page 3

WOOL DEALINGS

DOMINION AND BRITAIN. PRODUCT URGENTLY NEEDED. 'd “It seems clear tliat no primary product is more urgently needed by the United Kingdom Government than 10 New Zealand crossbred wool,” stated el tbe Minister of Marketing, Hon. W. r _ Nash, in an interview last evening, rs “When considering the sale of our ie wool to Britain it should be remernir bered that the quantity and quality l ° have altered considerably since the I sale during the last war, and also the ‘ e quantity of and prices received for -j} mutton and lamb bear such a close relationship to wool that they cannot g be completely divorced from it: Dell spite the fact that wool did not have Is to meet the serious competition from 1- substitute fibres that it does to-day, t when the war terminated in 1918 there were very large stocks of wool accumu- *’ lated and it took a considerable time j to get these used up and the wool ir trade generally was seriously depressed and dislocated. • “Doth the British and the Dominion Governments are fully' aware of the danger of an unnecessary accumulation of stocks of raw materials and, during the present war, everything i- | possible will be done to prevent it,” a j the Minister added. “The fact that tj the/United Kingdom Government has !-! agreed to extend its purchases for at ! ' j least one clip after the termination *j of the war indicates its intention to r try to bring about a gradual change back to peace-time trading conditions tby guarding against accumulated . stocks being thrown on to a someo what dislocated market. Those engaged e in the sheep-farming industry must - be organised and prepared to meet - the inevitable post-war competition ’ from substitute fibres. “I have found that sheep-farmers j are generally well satisfied with the 1 price Britain is paying us for our , wool. The few cases of complaint or 1 criticism brought to my notice have . mostly proved to be without founda- ’ tion and generally caused by incorrect information and consequent Incorrect ’ assumptions by tho person making ’ them. ’ “We cannot ignore the relationship between the United Kingdom and ourselves when dealing with her under , the present" war conditions. "We are a partner in the British Commonwealth of Nations and at war with a common enemy; we are fighting to retain our rights and freedom and those of the other smaller nations. At enormous cost to her people, Britain is making a prodigious effort and we must, and will, do our share. I feel that the man who demands for his products the last farthing Britain can possibly pay is acting as wo would expect the people of a neutral or an unfriendly country to act. It is good to know that those making such demands are few and far between. PRICE MAY BE REVISED. “We have sold our wool for the period of the' war and one year after, and this agreement may even be extended if both Governments consider it necessary,” proceeded Mr Nash. “No one can say at present what conditions will exist at the termination or immediately after the war ends. It is being stated that we have sold at the present price for the whole period of the war and one year after, but I this /is not correct. The price is sub- j ject to revision if either country con- I siders the conditions warrant it. I “Contracts have been arranged with I the Woolbrokers’ Association, the I Woolbuyers’ Association and the Wool I Scourers’ Association to carry out the I work usually done by their members or | any work which tlie British Govern- j rnent requires to be done. All this j work is paid for by the United King- I dom Government, and growers should I not forget that in comparing the I price they should add £d brokers’ I charges which they normally have to I pay. This brings up the comparable I average overall price to 13;d per I pound, and, in addition, there will be a a further sum available for distribution from tho 50 per cent, share of profits gained by sales to countries outside the United Kingdom. “Before reaching agreement with the United Kingdom on tlie price to be paid for our wool, the matter was discussed at meetings of a considerable number of men representative of the trade, and it was considered l*y them that 12d per pound would be a reasonable price to ask, taking into account all the circumstances,” said the Minister. “It was recognised that New Zealand crossbred wool would be needed for war purposes and therefore less would be resold—consequently the B United Kingdom Government agreed to pay us an additional -}d per pound, bringing the price up to 12}d per pound New Zealand currency. “I might add that the United Kingdom Government has not purchased the South African wool, which is being sold by auction in the usual way with all countries competing. South Africa has approximately 96 per cent. of Merino sheep compared with New Zealand’s 2 per cent. Its wool has brought up to March 31 an average of lljd sterling for greasy wool, but the usual brokers’ charges which the woolgrower must pay have to be deducted from the ll^d. CLASSIFICATION DIFFICULTIES, “The arranging of the relative distribution of tho 12yd among nearly 1000 different types of wool presented a very difficult problem, as there lias, always been tremendous variation in wool prices. The price of fine wool has been increasingly affected during the last three .years by the competition of substitute, staple fibre and the restriction against tlie sale of wool in many countries. However, the relative prices being paid for the different classes of wool are based on a much longer period than three years and are generous to the fine wool breeders.

“Comparisons of wool prices in the grease give no indication of the relative value of such wools =io a manufacturer, unless all the different factors are considered. The clean scoured yield may range from below 40 per cent, to over 75 per cent, and the condition of the wool varies considerably from year to year as a result of varying climatic conditions. Unfortunately, 1939 was one of the worst seasons in tlie history of New’ Zealand for sheep breeders, and the condition of the wool in many districts has been far below the average. The South Island high country experienced extremely severe weather during the 1939 winter and spring, which resulted in a heavy reduction of both the quantity and quality, of-many of the clips. “To meet the requirements of the British Government it was announced before the season was far under way that no all-in ‘wool would be appraised and that such wools would have to be skirted and classed at the brokers’ stores; but it was found to be impossible to carry this out as sufficient skilled labour was not available and also the stores, at some centres' were not large enough to enable the work to be undertaken and the arrangements for appraisals to he made at the same time. Serious delays in appraisals would also have resulted and, as Britain was in urgent. need of crossbred wool, the original decision had to lx? rescinded and all-in wools appraised.l “Before next season the price sched-j

ule ivill be carefully chocked over and those who go to the trouble of properly skirting arid classing their wool may be sure of receiving an adequate reward for the expense they have incurred. While we have to depend on human beings to carry out the appraisals we must expect some mistakes' but we are duty bound to do everything possible to keep them down to a minimum.

The United Kingdom Government agreed to allow 75,000 bales of greasy wool to be scoured in New Zealand, thus enabling our wool scourers to keep their businesses in operation and keep open New Zealand’s trade with other countries in scoured wool. During the season a substantial quantity of wool has been shipped to many countries and we have been particularly fortunate in that an adequate supply of 'shipping has been available during the season and there is no abnormal accumulation of stock. , “With a staff of nearly 500 the British Wool Control Office has already dealt with 4,000,000 bales of wool split up into thousands of lots ; this has proved a colossal • task and we should not be unduly critical if everything is not arranged just exactly as we think it should be,’’ the Minister concluded.