The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES." GISBORNE, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1946. MORE FREEDOM IN THE WOOL TRADE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21946, 14 February 1946, Page 6

The Gisborne Herald. IN WHICH IS INCORPORATED "THE TIMES." GISBORNE, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1946. MORE FREEDOM IN THE WOOL TRADE

tjPHEEE whs an encouraging note in yesterday’s news that the British wool (inns appear to be making good use of the new facilities .that, allow them to begin importing Dominion wool without the limit on individual quantities which ruled until recently. The fresh burst: of activity follows naturally enough in the wake of the earlier reports concerning freedom in importation. 01 recognised value to the industry is the system of direct contact between producer and buyer—a system which, according to the policy of the Joint Organisation for wool disposal, will be restored at the earliest moment permissible under the existing economic difficulties.

In the meantime it is apparent that, the lifting of a few wartime restrictions notwithstanding, wool will continue for some time to lie handled through control by the organisation. It is only in this way that the problem of orderly disposal can be overcome, with consequent benefit to the whole industry. The mere lifting of war restrictions would offer little benefit unless the prescribed supervision were in operation. Further than that, it is clear that the work of the Joint Organisation in maintaining stability and prosperity must he given a fillip by trade expansion. Any difficulties faced by the trade would have to be shared by the organisation. For this reason the readier access to raw materials granted by more freedom to import can be regarded as at least one helpful step towards the solution of a problem in which every New Zealand shcepfarmcr is directly concerned. Before the intricacies'of disposal and of assessing a fair price can be satisfactorily unravelled the factories must be kept steadily occupied. The situation, as recently described by The Financial Times, is that raw material is abundant and the demand at home and overseas insistent. There is also the fact that the slowness of demobilisation is causing a temporary shortage of labour for the mills; the labour shortage, in turn, restricts the output of finished articles. In 1939 the textile industry employed 220,000 hands; to-day it employs only 150,000. A further trouble is that the inflow of such new workers as are available is very largely offset by the retirement of elderly men who filled a gap during the war and by the return of married women to their homes. The retention of former wool hands in engineering workshops and other wartime plants is still another cause of the scarcity of expert labour.

It is estimated that to meet the present requirements some 60,000 new workers are needed. The position is not one which. will right itself quickly, but if Britain is to regain her economic position in the world the Government will have to take heed of the clamour for more rapid demobilisation. Full recuperation of the wool trade is one of the more important avenues for steady development,