WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 2 October 1929, Page 7

WELLINGTON NEWS

MARKETING WOOL. (Special Correspondent.) WELLINGTON, September 30. Can the present system of marketing the wool clip in New Zealand be improved? Most people intimate" with the methods employed would be ready to contend that there is very littL room for improvement, but it seems that farmers who have a hazy notion of the system hold the belief that a radical change in the system is needed. At a meeting of the Poverty Rav Executive of the Farmers’ Union recently, the Chairman, Mr F. S. Brown, referring to the subject of wool marketing, stated that this was the most important problem to be faced by the farmers of the Dominion. He contended that they should hold wool sales over the whole year instead of in a period of only four months. With the short season the Dominion was merely throwing the wool at the buyers. If they could hold wool sales over the whole twelve months they would get from 3d to Id more than they were securing at present. He Further stated that his scheme would be the best advertisement that wool could receive. The meeting authorised the Chairman to write to the Prime Minister on the disposal of the New Zealand wool clip. Under the,, present scheme the total of the clip, less of course the quantity that some woolgrowers prefer to ship to London, to be sold there for what it will 'fetch, is marketed during a period of five months, November to March included'. Between 400,000 nnd bdO,ooo bales are marketed during the period.'''*" In Australia wool sales are. held over the twelve months, but in the Commonwealth over 2,000,030 bales are marketed. The Australian sales begin in August and by the end of December, a period of five months, over a million bales are auctioned as against less than half the amount in New Zealand. More wool could be auctioned in the period in the Dominion but for the fact that there are so many selling centres, and once the sales begin here the buyers are kept on the move and their labour during the period is very strenuous. The present system of wool selling has developed and over thirty years of experience is behind the present marketing method. Cue should be very careful about disturbing a system that is the outcome of years of experience and effort to achieve success. Whatever system of marketing wool may be adopted there are interests that must be considered—the interests of the growers, the buyers, and the brok.ers; and of the three the buyers are supreme, for they form the keystone. Without buyers there would be no market. Last season the benches were filled by about eighty buyers, and probably not less than sixty of those were from overseas, and they represented all consuming countries. For some years fhe Poverty Bay farmers have wanted sales held in Gisborne, but the buyers indicated that they would not attend a sale there mainly because of the transport, and Gisborne had to he ruled out of the roster. Brokers here endeavoured to extend the selling period over six months but have been unable to secure flie consent and goodwill of the buyers. The latter look to return to their overseas headquarters in April, for they have other business to attend to. Mr Bowen contends that by holding the sales over the whole year farmers would get 3d to 4d per lb more for their wool than at present. If this is so the people of New Zealand would be glad if he would show how this can be brought about, for such an increase in the value of the wool would mean a million sterling or more. Of course, Mr Bowen was -romancing or drawing on a vivid imagination for an attractive optimistic statement. The wonder is that he did not claim that his scheme would solve the unemployment problem. Under the present system of wool fetches its full economic value. Wool is. very much depressed now and if interest rates go higher wool will go lower, and a depressed market generally helps to foster quack doctors with patent medicines. The Chairman was authorised to write and place his proposals before the Prime Minister. But why the Prime .Minister? Surely such a magnificent scheme of marketing as will enrich the woolgrowers by a million or more should bo placed before those directly concerned with the market, that is the growers, the brokers, and the buyers, and not the Prime Minister. The fact that the latter is to be worried implies that the Poverty Bay farmers want the scheme enforced by legislation. The stupidity of this must be obvious, for although Parliament may enact , that wool sales be held monthly it is powerless to compel 'overseas buyers to attend the sales, and without them 3d or 4d would drop off the value cf wool. Changes in the marketing scheme must come from within and not from cranks and politicians.