DESTINATION OF N.Z. WOOL

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28929, 24 June 1959, Page 19

DESTINATION OF N.Z. WOOL

Heavy American Buying

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 23.

The United States may have become the second biggest buyer of New Zealand wool exported during the last season. Exports to America from the start of the season on July 1, 1958, till the end of last March, when approximately two-thirds of the clip was sold, amounted to 174,750 bales worth about £9m.

This heavy American buying is the result of the liberalisation of controls by the United States administration on the importing of the coarser type carpet wools. France, usually New Zealand’s second biggest buyer of wool, was trailing America by 500 bales at the end of March.

During the period. Britain easilyheld her traditional place as the biggest buyer of New Zealand wool. Export figures at March 31 show she had taken 375,596 bales, worth about £ 17.7 m.

Purchases by these three countries in the same period the urevious season were: Britain, 355,835 bales, France 183,554 bales, and the United States 94.060 bales. Exports to Communist countries during the ten months totalled 28.501 bales, worth about £l.sm. This total was made up of exports to Poland (9957 bales I, Czechoslovakia (8079 bales), Red China (8056 bales), Bulgaria (1544 bales), and Russia (865 bales). Iron Curtain Countries

Exports to Iron Curtain countries during the first 10 months of the previous season totalled 67.981 bales, made ip as follows: Bulgaria .2200 bales, China 5767 bales. Czechoslovakia 17,371 bales. Hungary 165 bales. Poland 33.096 bales. Rumania 155 bales, and Russia 9227 bales.

Since these shipments, some of the Iron Curtain countries have bought fairly heavy quantities of New Zealand wool. During the last round of sales from the middle of April to the end of May, Russia and China are known to have bought heavily, though figures will not be known for several months.

Japan during the period under review also increased her purchases, taking 38,554 bales compared with 23,245 bales the previous season.

Altogether, 1.007,713 bales of greasy, slipe and scoured wool were exported during the 10 months out of the total estimated 1,525.000 bales. This compares with exports during the same period the previous season of 944,251 bales out of a total clip of 1,426.000 bales. All the season’s wool has now been sold and though the final details of purchasing countries have not been notified the total clip has been estimated to be worth £79.5m compared with £Bsm the previous year.