NEW-CLIP WOOL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 21963, 6 March 1946, Page 6

NEW-CLIP WOOL

UNSOLD PLANS FOR LIFTING ORGANISATION'S TASK (Special Correspondent.) LONDON, March 5. Speaking on “Wool in the Post-war Period” to the Bradford Textile Society, Dr. Berba Blau, economic adviser to the International Wool Secretariat, said a cjreat task awaited the joint orSanisation set up to dispose of the Dominion wool surpluses alongside future production. Its most novel task was the responsibility for lifting from the market the unsold surplus of new-clip wool. Some maintained (hat this might be dangerous by giving too much security to the growers and too much encouragement to expanded wool production, but the new scheme did not give any guarantee in regard to the level of the reserve prices at which the unsold new-clip wool would be lifted. _ The growers themselves took a far-sighted attitude and favoured fixing these reserves at very reasonable levels. Insofar ns the new arrangement would level out the former sharp fluctuations in value, it would be welcomed by all sections of the industry. Innovations in marketing technique could not themselves solve basic problems dependent on the wider aspects of world economic stability, but so far as marketing technique could play a part, the London conference scheme was wise and well-balanced and should be successful. The London conference estimate of from 12 to 13 years for the disposal of the Dominion surplus was based on the assumption of a 20 per cent increase above the pre-war levels of world wool consumption. But, as Germany and Japan would for some years to come probably take considerably less than their pre-war quantities of wool, other countries would need to increase their wool consumption by about one-third over the pre-war levels if an over-all increase of 20 per cent were to be secured. . , This was a tall order. The United States expected to increase her wool imports by more than 20 per _ cent above pre-war, but it was optimistic to assume that her record wartime rate of consumption could be maintained and there was no guarantee that the present American boom would not be followed by a slump. A European wool textile recovery was in progress in France and Belgium particularly, but the prospect of these countries increasing their pre-war wool consumption by one-third was yet remote, even if they ultimately achieved payment in the wool to be used for domestic purposes, whilst Central and South-eastern Europe were still receiving wool chiefly through UNREA. „ .. There were vast regions of the worm however, in which an increased wool consumption seemed possible, for when it was remembered that the pre-war wool consumntion of Britain, Europe and United States represented _BG per cent of the apparel wool entering the world trade, with Japan taking another 10 per cent., it would be seen that an area representing 'mpequarters of the world’s _ population consumed only, the remaining four per cent, of the world s wool. In India and China, for example, pre-war wool consumption was cnetenth of a pound per head • dual to only 2 per cent, of the per -apita vool consumption of Britain, and tneic > <• ■ little doubt that the lack of purenas-ng power rather than the climate, was responsible for this low woo, consumption. That was an obstacle which u was hoped, would be removed. Russia was another vast po.entia. market, though her imports were subject to over-all economic panning which made it. difficult f o predict >xi future level of wool consumption. _ The outlook for wool consumption m Britain which consumed more wool per head than any other country was good, for not only were there home market shortages to remove but the country was pledged to increase hci exports bv 75 per cent, over the piewar level and her pre-war position was that of the largest wool textile exporter in the world