BOYCOTT EXPLAINED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26635, 4 December 1947, Page 6

BOYCOTT EXPLAINED

GISBORNE WOOL SALE DANGER OF CREATING PRECEDENT STATEMENT BY BUYERS P.A. CHRISTCHURCH, Dec. 3. The reasons why the New Zealand Wool Buyers’ Association has decided not to recognise Gisborne as a selling centre were given in a statement from the association issued by the secretary, Mr J. M. Hargreaves, to-day. In its statement the association expressed the opinion that the •commencement of sales in Gisborne would create a precedent and thus strengthen representations* for the holding of sales in such small centres as Oamaru and Blenheim and add to the already heavy burden and cost of wool buying in New Zealand. “ Frequent representations have been made to the association over a long period by interested bodies to have Gisborne recognised as a selling centre, but after very careful consideration of the issues involved three full general meetings unanimously decided to decline this request,” said the statement.

“The decision was made known to interested parties as far back as February, 1946,” the' statement added. “There are already in New Zealand eight widely-separated centres for the disposal of about 800,000 bales, compared with New South Wales, whicli has three centres covering 1,100,000 bales. Already the cost of travelling about 10,000 miles a season is disproportionate to the amount of wool sold. The actual strain of so much travelling, mostly by train and bus, and using hotel bedrooms as temporary offices for the large amount of clerical work involved, already exceeds reasonable limits, and any additional travelling would be an insupportable burden, “Gisborne is so situated geographically that a sale cannot be held there on the way to another centre except from Napier to Auckland, which would involve 150 miles by rail, followed by a 12-hour journey over difficult mountainous roads. Gisborne is a roadstead port—steamers standing out at sea and being served by lighters—and the Overseas Shipowners’ Allotment Committee has decided that Gisborne wool will in future be shipped or railed to Napier and there loaded on overseas steamers.

“With the poor coastal steamer service available and the acute shortage of rolling stock, this would undoubtedly lead to shipping delays and aggravate further the already slow turn-round of overseas vessels," the statement added. “ The Gisborne district would normally produce about 55,000 bales a season, of which possibly 25,000 bales were shipped direct to London before the war. For the wool trade this was a desirable feature, since it provided a certain' amount of spot wool. In practice it has been shown this ' season that Napier can competently handle the entire Gisborne production in addition to wools from the Hawke’s Bay district, and since Gisborne wool must eventually be shipped from Napier the association can see no reason for holding sales in Gisborne.

“ One of the greatest difficulties in buying in New Zealand is the long period for which buyers are absent from their offices. Any additional selling centres must obviously prolong such absences and decrease efficiency,” the statement concluded.