OUTLOOK FOR WOOL.

Clutha Leader, Volume XLVII, Issue 52, 31 December 1920, Page 8

OUTLOOK FOR WOOL.

mmf OF FARMEBS.

XOT ALL OF ON K MIXD. ■Conflicting c i)i 1 of opinion as" to tlie wuoi wirtlook were offered by 'members of tl Vitn executive of vhc Fa touts' rint.ll at their lat\ uic< 1 i«y.

'"J"Ik- vice prcid-ent ( ! Mr W, W. Mul--9iollau;l) cjtprtised *9 rather disappoint.: i with live statement of the Board of Agriculture. in whidt there ■was- really iiat-hiij# '-oii-rtriictive. Far<m<srs weru adviud to .-("ore .sfecir wool, <bu't no detinue ■scheme of was suggi. -:cJ. UiMTuig, it) .be oli iiuy use, mil'.: 'fj. ft.- nit/&Ju, aii;l byPthat time t'lie 'vie. 1 :ile> rt.Hilu j.jft't, What Ciitl.. >\uiiM il.ere tl'.vn 'je for tha small v.uul.'j;''j'A'v.-r■' Tin- «xp«it outlet wat 1 lac main- uv.'. but exjwniing .small lots na* an expensive business. For lioidit cf.to 'be 'a any way profitable to tiieA- .-mall troii, swiice n-li-. .jnf must be devfer,! by wliieh d muni- t' 1 of them to'akl'pwl their wool. The pooling system had operated very siii-eessf~'l/ inthe past in Cana-da and the U.S.A. Tu. Canada time were s;na I! Weal pools, "then those were pooled iij larger lots, and there had been an attempt beyond that at a- national pool. 'What were th<<y to do with their .vvoU after it was tiekl? The trouble now. was that wool 9iad been; lieW tow long. On an average■tflie present British price;: were about equal to the late commandeer values in •New Zealand. 11' thor-e were to remain (he did not hnow that they had much to .complain of. 'Tlve wartime London (price's had beea very 'high, and they had ito remember that. 'lie considered that the present policy of the Imperial 60.vmimeii't —of just keeping the market supplied and not forcing the wool on to it-—was one that wight 'be followed Here. It seemed that each individual grower, jiow that the season was upon Ithjem, 'must, do what lie considered best. fMr (J. Sheaf: 'How aire you going to iiold it when' you have another fellow pvjshi-ug you.'

Mr Miilholland agreed that thai was the difficulty, especially with those who had reeeu'tly taken up land and bought sheep at high prices. He suggested (that they should '' put up'' to the Board t>f; Agriculture that it. should endeavour (to arrange, particularly in. regard to the small clip-;, some financial assistsatfce to en.i'ble growers to hold their •wool. Some provision must foe made for the sural! grower if he were to hold his wool.

".MUST FACE TIl'E iMUSIQ," ■Mr Siieut expressed the opinion that no amount ot' talking would improve the position. Tliev must face the music v fliml accept lower values. Onee ibefore jhe had stored liis wool over a lean yeaT. S T ex?t' season he sold it at an advance of a 'lialfpeuny per lb. He had gained experience by that, and he was afraid Ibhat to counsel all small growers to store their wool might be to give them' a similar experience to his. They had to realise that the world's market was again c-oni rolling t#e prices, and that was as it should be. In recent years they had 'been working on a fictitious basis. Rather Hi ait counsel growers to (hold their wool lie thought that the oinion should leav.e every man to himself.. He thought that values of coarse wool would not rise for some time. America wa* surfeited with it. If the union could write 'Home to Queen Mary and get her to wear a coarse woollenfabric, mid so set a fashion, it would 'be doing a service to .posterity. Unfortvinaitely, the fashion to-day was for fine fabrics.

sA. leading manufacturer had told Wan that,'if wool cost- nothing, the price of cjotfo would Die only 2s per yard less. That meant that the cost of the manufactured article lay chiefly in labour. If that were so, it meant that Mr Justice Stringer would have 'to readjust those 'bonuses. That was where th» natter must 'be tackled. The trouble was that wages had 'been' so bolstered ftp that a man receiving £5 to-day could not live so well as a man receiving £2 10s 'before the war.

OTHERS WILL SELL, TOO. Mr W. J. Henry was of opinion, that, while the small men would have to sell to get their money, the bigger men. would sell in order to put their money into something more profitable. >.Mt Mulhollaml said ithat the idea of the Board of Agriculture seemed to 'be that the pendulum' had swung -right Ibajjk, and thai present values were belay that whidli would' presently be established as the stable post-war value. That suggestion was borne out 'by the xjpening prices ait the Christchurch Balebeing 'below "tflie then London equivalent; but, on the other hand, the London market had fallen so heavily in a very short time that it was questionable if bedrock 'had yet beea reached. He thought that it -would be folly on the part of the producers to ru& their wool on to unwilling market'—and buyers to-day were unwilling. That, however., brought tliem up against the <posiitiou, that some growers would be forced to sell ,unless some arrangememt. was made n>r financing them. Whether that would be sufficient to demoralise the market was another matter.

On Mr Sheat's motion, it was resolved to write to the Dominion! Advisor Committee of the Union, wQiieh is to meet in Wellinigtoiii towards the close of this month, .asking it 'to.disacuss the position and to ascertain if anything could be done by farmers pooling their crossbred' wool.