PRICE OF HIDES

Evening Star, Issue 22618, 9 April 1937, Page 11

PRICE OF HIDES

STEADILY INCREASING BOOT TRADERS CONCERNED .At" the annual conference of the Dominion .Federation Boot Traders Association (New Zealand), held at Wellington during Faster, the increase in the price of hides, was fully discussed, and it was • decided that the Department of Industries and j Com-merce-be-communicated with, requesting that investigations be made into the continued advance. The secretary of the • federation. (Mr G. Shields) has submitted the following report on the conference: — “It was felt by the members attending ■ conference that the world shortage of hides was not as acute as it was made to appear, and that there was a. sufficient quantity to be bought at a price for all purposes, but that the increase was due more to the war scare and the race for armaments than an actual~shortage of hides. There was no difficulty in purchasing leather, either English or colonial, provided one was prepared to pay the high prices demanded. ■ “Mr Sydney Gallop, a past president of the- British National Incorporated Federation 8.T.A., who is Oh a visit to New Zealand, addressed a meeting of the delegates to _ conference,' and said that the position' was exactly the same in England. There was a sufficiency of leather for all needs provided one was prepared to pay the price, but with the continued advance—it had already advanced. 8d a lb in England l —it was inevitable that the cost of new shoes would have_ to advance, ;arid although the repairer had : not yet increased his prices, the increase in the price of leather would almost inevitably mean an increase in repair prices. “It was the desire ,of the_ federation to keep the cost of repairs down to a minimum, but in order to maintain. an equitable standard between costs'and repair chargee it would be almost inevitable that prices for repairs would be raised, the only alternative being to use a cheaper grade of leather, and that was very unsatisfactory and was not economical to the buying public. “It was realised that there was a danger in advancing prices beyond a certain limit, as it would have a tendency to turn the public from having their shoes repaired to the cheap new shoes. The real value of the repairer to the shoe wearer was not fully realised by l the public, and he had often been accused of charging too high a price, but, like all others engaged in business where materials had to be used in the application of that business, he had to adjust his prices according to the cost oi materials and wages. The new legislation governing the increased awards and the 40-hour week had increased the cost of production. “ Tho prices of repairs had been fairly stabilised 1 , there being only one advance, since 1934. There had been several advances in the' price of leather) and this had been partially brought about by the increase in wages and the shorter hours, but with the latest advance it had brought about an increase of 8d to lOd a lb in repairers’ sole leather, and with the prospects of still further advances it was felt that investigation was necessary. “The price of hides, like any other commodity, was ruled according to supply and demand, and was,not controlled by New Zealand buyers. There was a very large exportation of hides to other countries, and the tanners, as a result, had to pay increased prices. The price for New Zealand hides was to-day at a very high level; in fact, it was almost unprecedented. The exportation of t New Zealand-tanned solo leather could not materially affect the market as there was a ready demand for ; New . Zealand leather here and a considerable amount of leather imported. If there was a shortage of hides in this country and at the same time a large number exported to other countries while a fair price could be obtained for them here without the additional expense of freightage over-seas,-and a corresponding price could be obtained for New Zealand leather in comparison with imported leather, one might reasonably ask the question: Jf there is a surplus of h'dcs to meet our own requirements, why create a shortage, or, rather, why create the im-

pression of a shortage by exporting what is necessary for our user ' LOCAL AUTHORITY’S COMMENTS. “It is obvious that with the enormous increase in the cost of hides leather must go up in. sympathy,” said a local authority this morning when the matter was referred to him. Commenting on the suggestion that hides should be controlled and kept at a low cost, h© said that that would not be equitable, because the actual producer of hides would not be able to get the value on to-day’s overseas prices. .Controlled markets were not fair to the producers. Exports and imports must be influenced by world parity, and no amount of control would alter the position. If control were introduced one section in the chain involved must suffer. He was also definite on the. point that there is no shortage of hides in New Zealand, because a large surplus is being exported annually. The reasons why high prices were being paid for hides, 'he ‘'said, were so involved' that it was impossible to attribute the cause to any particular, one. Each year approximately 75 per cent, of the country’s hides was Reported. leaving about 25 per cent, for tanning here. In recent months there had been a definite rising tendency in the overseas price of hides, and the latest advice, received only yesterday, indicated that the value would continue to increase.