SUPPLIES OF BABY WOOL

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25245, 25 July 1947, Page 6

SUPPLIES OF BABY WOOL

MANY INQUIRIES IN DUNEDIN IMPORTS NOT EXPECTED TO BE LARGE (P.A.) DUNEDIN, July 24. The recent statement by the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr A. H. Nordmeyer) that substantial quantities of baby wool would arrive in New Zealand shortly and would be distributed within three months, caused tfee wool departments of Dunedin retail stores to be inundated to-day with inquiries from people desiring to place orders for this wool, which has been in very short supply for a considerable time. Many inquiries also came by telephone from country centres. Prospective purchasers found that the hopes raised by the Minister’s statement were doomed to disappointment. They were told that the quantities which could be expected would be very small, and it would be quite impossible to fulfil their orders. Mr W. P. Wellington, secretary of the Otago Retailers’ Association, in a statement to-day, said that a survey of the quantities’.to be received by local importers did not bear out the Minister’s promise. “Every endeavour has been made by local retailers,” he said, “to supplement their meagre stocks by overseas indents, but the quantity they expect to receive within the next three months is infinitesimal, compared with the huge accumulated demand of mothers. Nothing would give the retailers greater satisfaction than to be able readily to meet all inquiries for baby wool. “It is pleasing to note ...that some action is being taken to encourage local manufacturers, but from experience up to the present it would seem that no improvement can be expected from that quarter until local mills ean obtain labour suitable for this work,” said Mr Wellington.