The Wool Situation.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16415, 8 January 1919, Page 6

The Wool Situation.

Although the great bulk of the woolgrowers of New Zealand are satisfied ■with the bargain that has been made between the Government and the Imperial authorities for the sale of their wool, there are still a few who raise complaints. First it was alleged that the British Government were making great profits out of th 6 patriotism of New Zealand wodlgrowers, but this idea has been exploded. Now complaint is made that Australian and New Zealand (Wool is being sold io tho American Government at cost price, which is much below its value in the United States. Australia, which has a much larger clip than New Zealand, has not made any complaints against Lhe bargain that was made, although, the price wool-growers are receiving is no better than that being paid for New Zealand wool. South African wool-growers are sorry they did not accept the Imperial Government's offer for their wool, and now the United States wool-growers' organisations are passing resolutions urging their Government to fix the price of the coming season's clip, and to extend the arrangements for a year after the war. The few complaints that are being made here from time to time may, therefore, be taken for what they are worth, and their value is not great, considering the whole position.

An American view of the wool situ* tion is particularly interesting, ani perhaps an outline cf it as given by the Boston correspondent of "The National Wool Grower," the chief organ of the :ig industry in the United States, may tend to convince those who are sceptical >bout the British Government's policy in purchasing all the wool it can secure. It is pointed out that it seems to b© understood that England and America have made some kind of a working agreement for the control of the world's wool market, but it is by no means certain that England may not get the lion's share of the advantage, owing to her control of the wool clips of Australia and New Zealand, and (probably) South Africa. This is one of the uncertain factors in the after-war situation whose effect cannot yet be definitely forecasted, but it is admitted to be of prime importance to the wool and wool manufacturing industries of the United States. The Boston wool authority goes on to state the probabilities as follows, and the admissions are important: "Nothing is moro cer- " tain than that there is bound to bo " sharp competition in tho world's mar- " kets following the declaration of " peace, and other things being equal, "the country whose manufacturers have " access to the cheapest sources of raw " material will possess an immense ad- •' vantage over their competitors. To "a considerable extent, England pos- " sesses this advantage on account of "her contract, which assures her con"tiol of the Australasian clip for an " extended period. It is true that the price she pays for the wool is about 50 per cent, above the average for tho " three wool years immediately preced- " ing the beginning of the war, but "compared with the prices ruling for "domestic wool in this country, it is " undoubtedly a low figure. No thought-

" ful member of the wool trade expects

"to see pre-war prices in American " markets for some time to come, what- " ever may be the result of the' peace

• negotiations, though there will prob- " ably be more or loss disturbance in "trade circles, and possibly wide fluctu. " ations in values. . . . These consider- " ations indicate that England can give " her manufacturers a tremendous advantage in the coming trade war. She " will have plenty of cheap wool, while " the United States will be hampered " by the high prices at which the domes"tic clip is selling." The high values to which American wool has been allowed to soar is admittedly a dangerous feature of the situation, and, naturally, the American Government is reluctant to commit itself to the purchase of the 1919 clip, to say nothing of that of 1920, .at anything like the present rates. On the other hand, the wool-growers say that on account of the present cost of all their necessaries, and scarcity of labour, they cannot aiford to tako less. By its policy in purchasing the colonial wool clips, the Imperial Government holds the kov to the wool situation, and at the same t time secures to the British woollen manufacturers the largest sharo of the civilian trade after the war demands cease. What wool has been sold to the United States has been for Army and Navy purposes, and in November ft was announced by the American Acting-Quartermaster-General that no wool would be available for civilian manufacture for some time to come. England could not fairly ask her American ally to pay a big profit on the wool she was sharing with her in providing clothing for the men who so materially assisted her and her other allies to bring the war to a close.