WOOL PROFITS.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 April 1921, Page 5

WOOL PROFITS.

ABOUT THE £8,000,000. MR. MASSEY’S REPRESENTATIONS. Among the matters that will receive the attention of the Prime Minister in London next month, will be_the claim of New Zealand farmers against the £8,000,000 of undivided wool profits now in the hands of the British Government (says the Dominion). This profit was made on the sale of New Zealand wool bought under the requisition scheme. The Imperial authorities state that it will all be absorbed by the losses that will be made on the realisation of the unsold portion of the requisitioned wool. Mr. Massey is likely to argue that each year’s wool transactions ought to be treated separately. It has been stated that the New Zealand. farmers’ claim, is for half this undivided profit. The claim, as a matter of fact, is for more than half. New Zealand sold wool to the British Government under the original contract at a fixed price, plus half the profit made on any- wool resold for civilian consumption. Tjie same arrangement was made by the British Government with Australia. During one of his visits to England Mr. Massey found that a very much larger proportion of New Zealand wool was being used for military purposes than of Australian wool. He pointed out that this was unfair to New Zealand growers, who were suffering financially because their wool was specially suitable fo>r military purposes. The Britif '. Government agreed, in response to Mr. Massey’s- representations, that after March 31, 191*8, New Zealand wool was to carry the same profit as Australian wool, provided that the profit was in the wool. If Australian wool was sold at a profit of £4 per bale the Australian growers’ share of that profit would be £2 a bale. The New Zealand grower then would be entitled to a profit of £2 per bale. He would take all the profit if it did not amount to more than £2 per bale. He would take £2 and the British Government would take £1 if the profit amounted to £3. If the profit amounted only to £1 per bale, then the New Zealand grower would get that amount. Under thk. arrangement the New Zealand growers would have received the whole of the 1918 profit, not half of it.