Interest in Wool Board leader’s view

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32636, 18 June 1971, Page 14

Interest in Wool Board leader’s view

The newslettei- of an Australian firm in the wool field describes as “of great interest from the viewpoint of the trade everywhere, and particularly in Australia,” some remarks made by the chairman of the Wool Board, Sir John Acland, at the recent conference of the International Wool Textile Organisation in Washington. The reference was to Sir John Acland’s report on ex’ periments in pre-sale measurement of wool and selling on sample. “There has been a great deal of publicity advocating sale by objective measurement, and sample, and great benefits and savings have been promised from its general adoption,” says the Australian report “. . . . yet the chairman of the New Zealand Wool Board was unable to report with confidence upon results achieved so far in selling wool by this new method.” Sir John Acland was reported to have said: “We have learned that, with the exception of lots of 25 bales and upwards, the cost of measurement on our particular wools was likely to

1 exceed the saving made 5 from the reduced display of wool. Also buyers did ’ not find our samples a reall ly satisfactory alternative » to the present show stack. | So we are unlikely to see the widespread application of this method in New Zea3 land in the near future.” 1 In view of these remarks r of his and those of Sir Wile liam Gunn, chairman of the e Australian Wool Board, 1 that he could see no alterI native to the auction sys--1 tern for selling wool for some time to come, Sir John Acland was asked on r his return from overseas - this week had there been . some change in the atti- . tudes of wool board leas ders to marketing changes. Sir John Acland said that / the remarks attributed to i him in the Australian res port had been made when i he had been speaking about 1 New Zealand crossbred - wools of 48s count and 9 stronger. With the finer - wools there would be objec- • tive measurement but it - would take a little longer to s become a reality than had 1 been anticipated, he said. But there was no question - that there would be changes s in the marketing of wool, j The New Zealand Wool » Commission, he said, was f respected throughout the: - world for the way that it I > was disposing of its stocks!

and the way that it was conducting its operations. "I am sure that a great ’ many people now appre- . ciate that there must be 1 alterations in our market- ‘ ing system. . "We will have a report > from the Battelle Memorial > Institute (the organisation - that is undertaking a marketing investigation for the . board) by mid-August and . we will be making some , statement—it may not be the final one—at the meet- ’ ing of the electoral com- . mittee at the end of August t —as to what direction we t will be going.” > At the 1.W.T.0. meeting ’ Sir John Acland said that 1 there had been some talks • about marketing in general, and there had been a much • greater friendliness and apt preciation and understand > ing of the woolgrowers’ . problems.