WOOL INDUSTRY

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4812, 19 July 1939, Page 5

WOOL INDUSTRY

OFFER OF GUARANTEE. MR. BARCLAY’S CONTENTIONS. PRODUCTION AND COSTS. “This Government is offering the sheepfarmer a guaranteed price and no opinion could have stopped a guaranteed price coming in this year if it had not been for the increase in the price of crossbred wool,” said Mr. J. G. Barclay (Government, Marsden), during the Address-in-Reply debate in the House of Representatives last night. “We have only to wait a year or two for wool to go down a penny or twopence,” he added, “and they will demand it again.” Mr. Barclay described as grossly exaggerated the statements that it had been a good average climatic year. The production had decreased, but he claimed that 90 per cent, of the decrease was due to the drought. Southland was the only part of New Zealand which had good average conditions last year and gradings in that province were above those of the year before.

In the last few days, said Mr. Barclay, every member representing a dairying district had received letters and telegrams protesting against the abandonment of the guaranteed price. “The Farmers’ Union is misrepresenting farming opinion,” he contended, “I am a member of the Farmers’ Union myself, but I am sorry to say that that is largely true.” Reports of the situation of farmers in Canterbury were grossly exaggerated, Mr. Barclay continued. The dry season and change in fashion from fine to coarse wools were the cause very largely of the bad season experienced by Canterbury farmers. No doubt some costs had risen a little, but he knew of one farm in Canterbury where overhead costs had come down from £IOSO to £650.