S. Africa ‘success’ with acquisition

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33532, 13 May 1974, Page 12

S. Africa ‘success’ with acquisition

Two years of wool board acquisition of the clip in South Africa have been an unqualified success, according to Mr J. C. McMaster.

Mr McMaster is a sheep and wool officer with a woolbroking firm in South Africa.

Emphasising that he was expressing a personal I opinion, Mr McMaster said] in Christchurch last week' that opposition to the j scheme from a “vociferous minority” had now disappeared. Whereas wool selling had been a gamble because of

i price fluctuations, a grower now received the same price I for a particular quality of wool regardless of when it I was sold. Over a season, however, I the grower received only the average price paid for that wool, less an administration charge of about 1c a ‘kilogram. I He received an initial payIntent set for the whole I season after he sent his wool in for sale, and later, after i price averages were deter- | mined, a final payment. In ■ the last two buoyant seasons, I interim payments had also [been made. ■ Mr McMaster said there was a system of about 300 [pools with about 900 types [of wool being identified. I There was provision to sell I wool outside the auction system, he said, but in the last [two seasons this had not ■been necessary. Stability had now been [achieved for growers, he [said, but they had not been ■ given stability in the sense [of stable international markets. That could only be achieved if Australia and [New Zealand followed a ■ course similar to South i Africa’s.