LONGER MARKETING SEASON FOR NEW ZEALAND WOOL SUGGESTED BY BRADFORD

Evening Star, Issue 26102, 16 May 1947, Page 5

LONGER MARKETING SEASON FOR NEW ZEALAND WOOL SUGGESTED BY BRADFORD

(N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent.) (Rec. 9.15 a.m.) LONDON, May 15 Wool trade opinion favours a longer wool marketing season in New Zealand. Under present arrangements, the .bulk of the clip passes under the hammer in comparatively few months of the year, and. while this intensive marketing may suit the larger firms of top makers and importing merchants, as well as growers, there is the view that it would be of benefit to the majority of New Zealand wool buyers if the marketing could be spread over a longer periodSuch change it in argued, would better serve the interests of continuity of supply and a’so of financing by buyers. At present importers have to finance almost the whole of a year's primary market purchases of New Zealand woo) within about five months In the case of the Australian wool clip, the marketing programme spreads over eight to nine months, and this enables some of the early purchases to be turned into cash in time to finance the late season purchases. The same does not apply in New Zealand, and some observers po so far as to suggest that the best interests of New Zealand wool values might be served by spreading the marketing of the season’s clip over a longer period The matter has not up to the present engager] the attention of the trade federation. Wool trade interests are gratified at the recent statement of the Joint Or-

ganisation, which shows that at the end of June its stock of dominion wool will have been reduced in two years from 10.6 million bales to 4.4 million bales, a reduction of about 60 per cent. Of these totals, the surplus of New Zealand wool has been reduced from 1.6 million to just- over 1,000,OIK) bales. The liquidation of surplus stock this season of nearly 1,500,000 bales is regarded as a fine achievement in view of the fact that it is additional to the marketing of the current season clips. Now that the world wool shortages have been largely satisfied, it is regarded as probable that the future rate of surplus liquidation will be slower. Even so, the original estimate of 10 to 12 years for the disposal of war-time woo! accumulations is now regarded as a probable over-estimate.

Trade opinion in Britain, however, believes that consideration should *be given to some permanent organisation to stahili.se Dominion wool values by means of a buffer pool or some other means