Wool report ‘encouraging’

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32563, 24 March 1971, Page 3

Wool report ‘encouraging’

(New Zealand Press Associations WELLINGTON, March 23. A “mildly encouraging” picture on the future prospects of wool was given to the Government today by the managing director of the International Wool Secretariat (Mr A. C. B. Maiden).

Mr Maiden spent about an hour with the Cabinet Economic Committee, discussing marketing and financial aspects of the industry.

The Minister of Finance (Mr Muldoon), chairman of the committee, said in an interview that Mr Maiden’s picture was slightly better than the committee had expected. However, the Government was still concerned about the future of wool because longterm forecasts did not indicate a major rise in prices. There was no indication

from Mr Maiden that the present situation would worsen, Mr Muldoon said. Mr Muldoon said that Mt Maiden indicated that synthetic producers were experiencing a squeeze between low prices and rising costs. This could force them to increase their prices, which would give scope for higher wool prices. Another encouraging factor in the short term was that manufacturers’ stocks of wool were low. Although Australia, South Africa and New Zealand all had stockpiles of wool, Mr Maiden sensed a rising trend next year, Mr Muldoon said. Mr Maiden said that LW.S. research had discredited one popular fallacy-rthat carpets made of a mixture of wool and synthetics gave the best of both products. Research, had shown that no significant improvement was made by adding synthetic fibres. The I.W.S. budget was discussed briefly, Mr Muldoon said, but this was confidential.