Battle of keeping wool in use

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32703, 4 September 1971, Page 1

Battle of keeping wool in use

It would be extremely difficult to obtain increased prices for wool—the major battle at the moment was to keep wool being used, Mr L. P. Chapman, a- member of the Wool Board, told executive members of North Canterbury Federated Farmers in Christchurch yesterday.

He was answering a question at a meeting called to enable explanations to be given of the report on wool marketing prepared by the Battelle Memorial Institute and the Wool Board’s marketing plan, which is based on the report. Mr Chapman said that a fundamental aim of the scheme was to improve the servicing of the manufacturer and Dr I. L. Kinne, of the Battelle Institute, held the view that if the problems of presenting wool to the manufacturer in a better form were overcome, there could be room for manufacturers in the United States to pay 25 per cent more. However, Mr Chapman added, a lot of money would have to be spent to achieve that objective. Price increase ~ A former president of North Canterbury Federated Farmers, Mr R. H. Bedford, said it had not been stated anywhere that if the Wool Board’s proposals were adopted there would be an increase in the price of wool. “We have got to get an

increase in the price or the I sheep will become extinct,” i he said. i Mr Bedford said he was i not convinced that this pro- i posal would bring any great . relief to the industry or that it was being directed at the right area. Growers might spend their money better in producing and selling the finished article. Mr Chapman said he did not see the board or producers moving into this field at present, but the commer-cial-type wool marketing corporation that was proposed might be a springboard from which such moves could be made. The chairman of the meat and-wool section’s executive committee (Mr B. H. Palmer) said he felt that farmers had to look forward to top, sliver, and yam making and that was why a commercial-type organisation was being proposed. Mr Palmer described Dr Kinne’s views about the future place of wool in the textile industry as frightening. If something was done immediately, he said, wool would have a place in the industry fin 10 years. But if something was not done there would be no place for wool. Wool’s weakness The weakness, he said, lay in the way wool was marketed. Dr Kinne had said that it could sometimes take a consumer of wool three to six months to get the wool he required, but to obtain synthetics would take only hours. The auction system had some virtues, he said, but it presented an insurmountable barrier between grower and user. If, as he thought, there was merit in what Dr Kinne said, that barrier would spell the end of auctions. Summarising the board’s marketing plan, Mr Chapman said it was intended to establish an organisations to market the clip more efficiently. It was proposed to make changes where they were necessary but to retain and strengthen existing institutions where they were performing satisfactorily. More stragling The board’s proposals could not, however, be implemented without some risks and sacrifices. Even if they were successful wool would have a continuing struggle to maintain its place in the world, but it would not be fighting with its marketing arm behind its back.

The possibility of using the International Wool Secretariat as a marketing organisation had been examined, but it would take a long time to organise it for this role. It would also require the cooperation of the other partner countries. It was felt

that New Zealand should start on its own and if the other countries also worked in a similar direction they might be able later to consider working through the I.W.S. Questioned about the attitude of buyers and brokers to an uncertain future, Mr Chapman said it was inherent in the scheme that it be worked out in co-operation with buyers and brokers. The powers of the corporation would need to be handled carefully to ensure that their confidence was retained. Farmers’ view The immediate past-presi-dent (Mr W. N. Dunlop) said it had been shown in the report that wool was being threatened in the market place, was not responding to the threat because of the existing marketing system, and was being presented to the manufacturer in a way that meant it was a poor competitor. If the proposals did something to improve that situation, farmers should support them. If the proposals did not, farmers should suggest how they might be improved. The president (Mr A. F. Wright) said that press reports might have suggested that a decision had been made on the board’s proposals. But no decision had been made affecting the farmer, and the board had given a guarantee that farmers would be fully consulted before a decision was taken. After the meeting, branch chairmen and meat and wool section delegates would have the responsibility of testing the reaction of their branches. It was then intended that a decision should be made at a joint meeting of i the Dominion meat and wool ! council of Federated Far- . mers and the electoral com- • mittee of the Wool Board on , October 12.