To measure or not?

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32588, 23 April 1971, Page 14

To measure or not?

Farmers attendihg a wool marketing forum at Ashburton last week were told by Mr D. L. Ambler, manager of a firm of wool merchants and buying brokers, that for 70 to 80 per cent of the New Zealand clip objective measurement of characteristics would be a sheer waste of time and money. It should be realised by those people who were keen to promote wool measurement schemes that only a small percentage of wool would show any benefit to the grower from measurement, he said.

Generally speaking, he said, that the destination of New Zealand crossbred wools was the carpet trade and the carpet industry was expanding all the time and would be able to take all of the wool that could be produced.

A member of the Wool Board, Mr L. P. Chapman, said that the board had to take a long term view. They were concerned that in the long term New Zealand wool should be measured and be explainable. It could be that a new use could come up for New Zealand bulk crossbreds and hopefully at a better price.

The Wool Research Organisation, he said, was in the lead in the world in perfecting techniques to do this sort of measurement. '

While individual buyers at a particular time might be happy with minimum preparation of clips that they wished to buy, in the over-all interest of the New Zealand clip and the preparation of wool it was necessary to insist on certain minimum standards, according to the type of wool that was involved, said Mr K. J. Fulton, a former president of the New Zealand Woolbuyers’ Association.

Indiscriminate grouping of wool together would not be in the general interests of the trade, in spite of what some people might say.

When a grower commented that there had only been a 1c difference in the price for a clip ranging from 44s to 50s counts. Mr N. 3. Thomas, general manager of the New Zealand Woolbrokers’ Association, said that because of the sophisticated machinery now in use not so detailed a break up of wools was now required. At present he said an attempt was being made to determine what was required in the way of preparation to meet the requirements of end users and when it paid to stop.

Mr Ambler said that in the last few years much emphasis had been put on preparation and measurement of wool, but for about 80 per cent of New Zealand wool, any measurement put on it by anyone in New Zealand would be of no consequence to those using it. It could be appraised visually without the expense of measuring it by machine.

The type of preparation that applied to a rough clip from Wanganui would not, however, be sufficient for better clips from Otago

or Canterbury, Mr Fulton said. In general objective measurement would have more limited application to New Zealand wools than to the finer wools in Australia, South Africa and also those produced in this country. Objective measurement was nevertheless an extremely useful control in improving wool preparation and ensuring that manufacturer’s require-

ments were being fulfilled and that certain standards were being maintained, which was different from measuring every lot that left the country. Mr C. R. G. Woodham, who is the president of the Federation of New Zealand Wool Merchants, said that growers would be advised to look after their wool, in case there was a change in the present situation.