FRENCH WOOL PURCHASES

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28493, 24 January 1958, Page 12

FRENCH WOOL PURCHASES

Ambassador’s Statement (New Zealana Press Association/ WELLINGTON, January 23. If the French Government had decided to limit purchases of New Zealand wool, the French Embassy in Wellington would have been advised from Paris, but no such advice had been received, said the Ambassador of France in New Zealand (Mr R. de Bercegol), in a statement today. Commenting on a report quoting him as saying that ‘Trance had been forced to stop buying New Zealand wool because of tile lack of exchange funds,” Mr de’ Bercegol said he had not made any such statement. “The Embassy was phoned two days ago and informed by. a local reporter from an Auckland newspaper that the French had stopped buying wool in Auckland,” he said. "We explained that we had no official information on this matter and that if French buying had stopped in Auckland, then we could only suppose that the types and varieties of wool offered were not exactly suited to French requirements. , “As an alternative, I suggested to the newspaper that the reported restraint of French buyers might be due to exchange difficulties, which came from the fact that no funds were available in New Zealand for French' purchases because New Zealand was not buying reciprocally from France. „ “Supposing the French Government had had to resort to a measure limiting the imports of wool, my Embassy would have been advised officially and would have reported the matter at once to the New Zealand Department of External Affairs.”