Mr Muldoon 9s Wool Price Estimate

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31680, 16 May 1968, Page 26

Mr Muldoon 9 s Wool Price Estimate

During the next wool selling season, in spite of the offering of part of the stockpile held by the Wool Commission, the average price might creep over the support price to growers of 25c, said the Minister of Finance (Mr Muldoon).

Addressing the Lincoln farmers’ conference, the Minister said he believed that the average price for the season predicted by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research of 28c was somewhat optimistic.

The World Bank mission, which had prepared a report on medium-term economic and development strategy for New Zealand after a visit late last year, suggested in its latest draft that in 10 years New Zealand might be able to export an expanding clip at an average price of about 32c per lb. The arithmetic on which this estimate was based might well be sound, said Mr Muldoon. The proposal relied to some extent on the fact that such countries as Argentina and Uruguay were not likely to increase their exports to any great extent. Mr Muldoon said that his Treasury advisers, looking ahead up to 10 years, felt that a price somewhere in the low 30s might be realistic. "This is an indication of

the long-term prediction avail-1 able to the Government, making no allowance for inflation,” he said.

I“But as the events of the last year or two have shown, predictions in this field are hazardous,” Mr Muldoon said.