‘Too much short wool’

Press, 4 February 1982, Page 2

‘Too much short wool’

PA ■ f Wellington Farmers wfr'o send inferior wool to auction may be penalised financially, said the chairman of the Wool Board, Mr Ji D. Mcllraith, yesterday. Speaking after a meeting with the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) and the Minister of Agriculture (Mr Maclntyre), Mr Mcllraith said too much short wool was being unloaded on to the market. Earlier this week Mr MacIntyre raised the possibility that the inferior-quality wool would have to be dumped, drawing the reaction from Mr Mcllraith that no wool would be dumped while he held his post. “It is very obvious that the best- lesson a person can learn is to suffer financially. When the farmer clearly gets the message that the market offers him ‘x’ number of cents for his kilogram of short wool against perhaps twice that amount for better wool, then he is going to stop producing this very shortstaple wool,” said Mr Mcllraith.

He said discussions would be held sooneover measures to stop farniers sending in short wool. - But. the short wool would .be able to be sold overseas, he said. “It is our belief that when there is a market upturn overseas these poorer quality inferior wools can be blended and will become : a market-, able commodity*’” Mr Mcllraith said part of the problem related to the outbreak of facial eczema in the North Island last year, and part of it was due to distortions created by the Government supplementary minimum price scheme.

The discussions would be held with the Government and Federated Farmers. Mr Mcllraith said measures would be discussed which might well change the basis of the S.M.P. payments. The Wool Board had several options open to it but nothing had been firmed up, he said. Mr Mcllraith was also asked if he had discussed the possibility of the Wool Board taking up a $5O million loan to continue its wool-buying. Mr Mcllraith refused to comment on the suggestion. But he did say the Wool Board had an overseas credit facility open to it if required.