BLACK-MARKET FOR NEW ZEALAND WOOL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23043, 6 September 1949, Page 4

BLACK-MARKET FOR NEW ZEALAND WOOL

THE British Government’s decision last week to introduce export licenses for raw wool shipped from that country in an effort to stop a leak in the sterling area’s dwindling dollar reserves follows reports of fairly widespread black-market operations. This concerns particularly Australia and New Zealand. While both Dominions are struggling to live within their dollar allocations, some foreign traders are getting dollars by paying sterling for our wool and reselling in the United States. This activity was revealed when the British Office of International Trade published the results of a study of indirect imports of New Zealand wool into the United States in 1948 ; American buyers in that year imported about 31,000,0001 b. of New Zealand greasy wool of which 4,800,0001 b. or 15.4 per cent was invoiced by countries oilier than New Zealand. Of other New Zealand wool imported last, year by the United States 32.7 per cent of the 4,600,00011). was invoiced by countries other than New Zealand. Currency manipulations also reveal a surprising difference in the values of imports, transhipped materials selling below the direct-purchase cost to United States importers. For example, direct shipments of New Zealand greasy wools averaged 32 cents a pound, whereas the price for indirect shipments was 31 cents. For wool other than greasy the difference was greater. Direct wool imports averaged 47.9 cents a pound and indirect only 45.7. The Netherlands, invoicing nearly 4,300,0001 b. of greasy New Zealand wool, was reported to be the principal indirect source, followed by Britain with 509,0001 b. Of the other wool imported 1.100,0001 b. was invoiced by the Netherlands and 353,0001 b. by Britain. Canada, France' and Italy invoiced small quantities. It is in New Zealand’s interests that this activity should be stopped. Despite our tight import, controls we had an adverse balance’of trade with the United States last year of £6,549,000. Wool is one of our main dollar earners, and indirect sales resulting in the loss of dollars must aggravate the situation. There is unfortunately no easy solution.