'U.K. prospects good’

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33453, 7 February 1974, Page 14

'U.K. prospects good’

At least one Britisl visitor to New Zealam does not share the pre sent general pessimist! about the future o Britain. Mr J. Wilcox, director o I the United Kingdom and Ire j land branch of the Inter I national Wool Secretariat Ibelieves that Britain has ; /‘good, medium term future.' Through the developmen jof the oilfields in the Norti |Sea and the Irish Sea. Britair icould become one of Europe’: most self-sufficient countrie: in oil. This, together wit! Britain's having the best coa reserves in Europe, made the prospects for Britain’s econ omy good—but not until the oil had begun to be extracted

h | As the world’s largest usei d|of New Zealand's wool—“t great conversion workshoj ‘’ for wool’’ — Britain was vit n ally important to this if country, he said. The fast-rising price ol wool had reduced last year’s >f wool imports into Britain by 20 per cent from the previous r-'year’s, but there had been 0 t. lot of orders before the ecoa nomic troubles really took ” effect. it Mr Wilcox was wary ol h predicting the effect of the n three-day working week: he slsaid that much depended on s;British politics in the next six h [weeks. il He said that his branch e had been developing and pro- - moting uses for wool, particue larly in carpets, in three of Lithe last four years wool

r(usage had increased in a volume — and wool had 3 increased its share of a ris- - ing market. s The rising price of oil would raise the price of synf thetic fibres, and the demand sifor wool should increase, Mr / Wilcox said. s Either wool would become i more competitive by the nar- - . rowing of the price difference between wool and synthetic fibres, or both wool and synf thetics would go up and the i whole fibre market would be ? more expensive, with the i price difference the same. : Mr N. Lizardi, director of the branch of the secretariat i in Mexico, who is accom- ■ panying Mr Wilcox, said that ■ supplies of synthetics in some f.markets had been cut by as I (much as 20 per cent.