THE H.B. TRIBUNE. SATURDAY, SEPT, 16, 1922. STABILISING CROSSBRED PRICES.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XII, Issue 235, 16 September 1922, Page 4

THE H.B. TRIBUNE. SATURDAY, SEPT, 16, 1922. STABILISING CROSSBRED PRICES.

When discussing a few days ago the proceedings at the recent conference in Melbourne of those interested in the wool-growing industry, as reported in Australian papers, we mentioned that some fuller information might be expected on the return of a New Zealand representative who had been in attendance. This gentleman was Mr. Bernard Tripp, of Timaru, and a Wellington exchange now gives us the substance of what he had to tell this week’s annual meeting of the Sheepowners’ Federation at Wellington. Mr. Tripp had little more to say with regard to the actual proceedings at the conference beyond what we have already given. As then mentioned,, in the final result the conference passed the following resolution:—“(!) That it is desirable to control the allocation of quantities of wool for submission at Australian auction sales; (2) that the present system of allocation of wool be continued for a further term of 12 months; (3) that the council ap proves of Sir John Higgins’s proposal No. 4 for the stabilisation of crossbred wool.” Sir John Higgins's proposal, as it affected crossbred wool, is set out as follows:—“(a) Determine and fix limits for respective counts based on the principle of the Central Wool Committee’s table of limits and upon values ruling for the last three months of the 1921-22 season, or as may be ulti* mately arranged; (b) make cash payment to growers 14 days after appraisement on the basis of such limits; (c) should any profit result on a resale of wool so acquired of the 1922-23 clip the net profit to be equally divided between Bawra and the growers, and such profit to be distributed on a percentage basis to growers in relation to the appraised value of the wool; (d) the wool so acquired shall not be reoffered before July, 1923.”

What is of fresh interest here appears in the conclusions which Mr. Tripp himself has reached as the result of the Australian discussion of the crossbred situation. He prefaced his remarks by making it clear that he was not officially appointed to represent New Zealand at the conference, but was there merely as a guest at the invitation of the chairman, Sir John Higgins, president of the British-Australian Wool Realisation Association. This, however does not in any way affect the value of his impressions as he submitted them to the New Zealand growers. These are summarised in our contemporary as follows. After hearing all the discussions at the Australian conference, he said, he had come to the conclusion that the time had arrived in New Zealand when we should have some strong organisation to enable growers to hold their wool if necessary, in or-

der to stabilise the market. It wat necessary, also, to keep in mind that with the cutting up of the estates in New Zealand clips were becoming very small and mixed, and often not well classed on the farms. This often meant that a buyer, in order to get what class of wool he wanted, would have to buy more bales than he required, and in order to safeguard himself he gave a low price in the first place. The wool brokers, he recognised, did a great deal of re-classing of farmers’ clips, but he thought it ought to be done on a much larger scale by some organisation in conjunction with the wool brokers at each selling centre. The appraisement period during the war had been a good lesson to all, and he doubted very much if it was to the advantage of growers to go back to pre-war ways, because as time goes on we would see wool pooled to a much greater extent than previously, also the price could be stabilised by some central body in a position to study statistically the wool market and fix every few months a fair selling price for all counts of wool.

In conclusion Mr. Tripp said he thought that it would be a simple matter to get Australia to agree to this with their crossbred wool, ano that if someone put the position before the Argentine and South African wool-growers they, too, would see it was to their advantage to come into line. Sir John Higgins, he assured his audience, was out to do his very best for the woolgrowers, and on whatever suggestions the New Zealand Wool Committee made he would be only too pleased to give his advice, in order to improve the price of crossbred wool, which, as he pointed out, was below its statistical value, and growers were not getting.a fair deal. The report of the New Zealand meeting carries the subject no further than to say that Mr. Tripp’s suggestions were received with manifest approval, a cordial vote of thanks being accorded to him for the time and trouble he had given in the interests of the Dominion sheepfarmers. It is to be presumed that his remarks will engage the attention of the Wool Committee and that we shall heai - more later on in the way of the formulation of some definite scheme. It would seem, however, as if it would scarcely be practicable, for the present season, to arrive at any understanding with either South Africa, or the Argentine, unless it may be that confidential negotiations have already been in progress and brought to something very near a head.