PROPHET IN WOOL BUSINESS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, 15 May 1925, Page 11

PROPHET IN WOOL BUSINESS.

CONFOUNDED BY MARKET FLUCTUATIONS.

by Cable —Pran* Aeioalatlon— Oopyr’ghtAustralian and N.Z. Coble Association. LONDON, May 12,

Replying to .MrvAckroyd’s letter. Sir Arthur Goldfinch) (chairman ,o£, the British and Australasian Wool Realisation Board), says:—;• “I have been •watoiiirig’Hhe wool position since 1921, as a delegate and representative of a large -section of Australian wool'growers. Idy diagnosis of the.-position,from 1921 to 1924 proved singuta'riy accurate. I acknowledge that this year the course of the market is running counter to my expectations, but this only proves that I am not infallible. I intend to continue to watch the wool position, arid comment p.ublicly thereupon whenever and in whatever mhnner I consider right,”

Commenting lately on the wool crisis “The Yorkshire Post” said:

“The prophet of a wool'famine is at a discount now. The present problem is how to deal witn large accumulations. . . . There is now a surplus, not a famine, and the surplus is being carried. . private traders.” ' v:: -.

, .The following from the last issue of “The Australasian” should be read with interest by producers in the Dominion:—

“Sir Arthur Goldfinch, London chairman of Bawra, in .his revised estimate gives the world’s stocks of raw wool on January 1, 1925, at about 2,800.000,0001 b., compared with about 4,000,000,0001 b. on January 1, 1921. He estimates the consumption for 1921-23 :at about 8,500,000,0001 b., and production for 1924, excluding Turkey and Russia.' at 2,500,000,000ib. to 2,500,000,000 lb- The world’s supply of wool now available is less Than the average consumption for 1921-23 by about 300,000,0001 b. per annum. Sir Arthur Goldfinch adds that, comparing stocks of January, 1325, > with those of January, 1921, it is evident that there is no abnormal supply in any. country. This year trading stocks in the United States are much lower than they were in 1921, but, on . the other hand, they are somewhat larger in France, Germany, and Poland. Sir Arthur Goldfinch also points out that the new clips of the Southern hemisphere have been marketed to a decidedly larger extent than in 1921. On January lof that year only 22 per cent, of the Australian clip had been shipped, and. 65 per cent. lay in warehouses, whereas on January 1, 1925,. the figures were 47 and 43 per cent, respectively. The Argentine and Uruguayan figures also showed a more liquid position in 1925 than in 1921. Sir Arthur Goldfinch concludes by saying, “My last word is that half the world’s clip has disappeared.’'