WOOL TRADE

Nelson Evening Mail, 15 November 1916, Page 5

WOOL TRADE

N.Z. WOOL FOR IMPtRIAL PURPOSES IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT 8 TERMS 45 PER CENT. ADVANCE ON • Mr W. S. .'H'ampson, secretary of the Nelson Freezing Company, has received ■the following communication from Mr i!> Triggs: "1 understand Mr Foster, by arrangement with the Honourable Miu- • ister in charge of Imperial Supplies, is : communicating with you in respect to the conference at Wellington on Thursday next in connection with. wool. By direction of the 'Honourable Minister, I have to advise that the proposals : of the Imperial Government in the matter ■ of tlid requisition of New Zealand wool are : "(1) That the. Imperial Government will accept as a basis the.average price realized for each quality of wool for the season 1913-14, plus advance of 45 per cent, therein, delivery either .at port, railway..station, or stores nominated,. by l the New Zealand Government. • ''(2) All handling expenses , from point of delivery to be borne by thei Imperial Government. . .. • "(3) Payment, prompt cash on delivery. ■ ;.- r ': .; "(4) All existing contracts to be •cancelled., v ' (5) Ocean transport to be pro? vided by •the Imperial Ooyernmenfc. "(6) -Surplus wool not required for. military "/-purposes to-be soldopen -mark'et in the Uaiited\ : KingW dom, and half any profit realized) thereon to revert to the New ,Zea» , land wool growersi In. the event of loss, the whole to •:bo borne -by t the Imperial Government." , ACQITIsrriONi OF TOE CLIP* ' , WHAT ARE THE TERMS. ' COMMITTEE STILL SITTING. The following', from yesterday's Post, : ,will read with interest:— It -was irefcfently • announced (that the, Imperial GovexnWKuii, had cabled .to,.the. ' Zealand Government jfchat it re., quired the whole wf the Dominion. "cl-jp". ifoi*" the -current season, itnd- -that- it. has sent out certain ■ (proposals: im ■ regard to prices, freight", and shipping The prices offered were not m'Ade public,'.but -it"is understood' that they were framed op a pre-war basis. The Minuter of GbmaneXc 5 * (Hon. W. D. S. Mao Donald) has given no indication of the 'torma ofieredl - i-iOy .'it-lie Imiperial Governunetnt. Instead, / |ie /called a conference .of. wool-growers, wool-brokers, andi other® interested ira the wool and lie riet them in conference in. Parliament Build-_ iiigs at' Wellington: this morning. After passing a motion "the Ojfluiion t-hat the Doniinioxij y is to see (tlio war through to a successful conclusion, the conference, says the Post, splat itseif up into a number of ccimmit-' .tees for coas'Vdcasi'bioni of tho various points involved. ' These .committees ana now sittings' and will report in). due course. ... . ■ ■_■ ■■,■, ■• • • It was understood that tlio, Imperial Governmenit offers SlO pea'/cent, increase, on pre-war prices: These, of. would be; by no means up to the levei oi (ptru--ces tilmt have ruled l since tne Avar began, ■but they would mean an. increase. in value, comipa>flpd waith. 1913-14, -of a>bout * £3,000,000.

| 1 LAST YEAR' 3 PRICES. . I Yesterday's Pominion . states:— • i It has to be- remembered that lasb year's pr'jces were [phenomenal. .Early in tiie season, at the November and De- , cemiber sales, the market was to touyerg from all save . enemy.. miJitjries, , , > anct. itlie effect" "was felt of competition. • from! both America jandi Japan. HalfIbred wool -was sold os hi'gh iw crossbred aip to .and a .few lot« of Swuthdown wool w^oro ; b-Ought for Japan at 'the Novemben; sales in WbtUinatoiii at ,tho accord jpirices of 23d nndj jp«r lb- art' tlve .-grease, i says the Dominion. l Even after the iprohiwtioni o£ exjporfc: to ■ 'Atoerica was enforced ,(p January,- the • finer -\voola for which the Amerjcins had .beeni active competitbi l s<' did 1 (not. drop • in valine, and : <tne -prices for. ordinary - crossbi'ed wool -were considerably abpvo •» itlie 'prices amling- at eai'lier sales. , Then yarns' -tli© difficulties -about getting .bottonis to telio itho ,wool to Ltcxridon, t An.dt iai' of it ith© isailes.were delayed. and wore in tlio end lieldt ૞ |'altered condition'?. Biiy-era ,'sto withhold payment atntil sliipping dooui imifenits were available, Ono effect, of tho delays was that New Zealand, growers, I wiio had not 'been lucky enough to 'Qaid* : the earlv sales had .to take at the later I'sSles foorn Id to lid less for crossbred I wools, and; about; Id. (pjer lb less for fine, I'wboV. " ' .- j 'Following , were the 'prices ruling , tin. ' January fo'r the yeairs 1914 and 1916 : • . ..... . .y „ 1914 ■ .. IQ i6. j. .d. d. d-. d. ■ I Soiperdor M'ermtf " " * - - - - - I. 'combings " 12 ; 14i - , I Medium ito 'good ■ ' ■■■ .Meriito . 95 lli 14^ I I-iiferior . Merino .• &i % 11, I Superior lial'fbred 12 14- 18& 21 Medium- -to good - . I ihalftored 9| 12" 164-I?i v i Inferior half bred S 10; 13 J 15^ Sppeirior crossbred- 10J 12 18 19J Medium) to good - -:<• I vicrossbt'ed 9 11- 3»?tj Inferior <jt&s»bred -7f 9; f liincoht and Lei- ; , ' ■ . cester 8J Before itlie • Avar, 1912'13 was tho 'best, year, for values were „ from 4d to Id per lb 'b<Stter ifchatra in 1913-14. In "the niext year, prices for crossbred wool W-so about' 2d .per lb., and last season tihe&a wav pixc'es weaio inoreaeed by as : miuch' as'sd (per lb. Tliis season, if the Imperial ■ ipurcliase scheme goes throuigh, .growera will have to ifcake less- ith-ani -last yeaa - : « ' WOOL, THE MOST VALUABLE EXPORT, The importance of tlie issues to -be decided at the confernc© anay ed from tlie. faxst tiliat wool .is sbi'll'om' ano&t valuable. export, anU ono. whidn t lias grown)'steadily aiind • .icuv in - ofitli© exports" of wool- ;seasoUa endimg September.3li, x - ■ •. • ' £ -■ 1908 5,716,373 1909 : 5,914,695- ! • 1910 7,954,527 1911' ..................... 7 t 152,682 S 1912 7,011,541 ' ! -1914 8.167,279 1915 t 10^425,172 The > Government has p^aetically. no precedents ta guide iit in set-tin'®; about . • 'thia off the New Zealand' dip. Tlhe Goveniment newt ipreviou»ly linfterfered; with wool busitnesß. ** It ; 4jaa'. always "run itself very well v The probV lem as a very mucli- - ihaa'der ■on» 1 -.ttaaI jxresenied by tho imeait purchase fschemoI Under the latter scheme. the Govern j an«nt dieals only with the freezing con* | panieis; who act eiith'er as .prLncipnls

as agents for - ilia fanners in selling to l£be Government- Wool has hitherto always been sold, and will stiil be sold, jby the individual growers, and' so the task of 'the : .Government will be the greater for Shaving to deal with a very £arge number of (persons. . Ifc as stated tharti . speculators Shave ibeerb (buying wool (privately, before the sales from farmers. These dealers w3l Stave 'to sell their nvool to the Government at the prescribed rates. Perhaps <fche option will :be allowed them of holding'-. the wool in' store until after the twar, but they will not be allowed to pMp von their own account wfoacli the Im.pearial Government is buying on its own account. THE BRITISH; WOOL CLIP.

Mr F- H. Labatt, secretary of the 3few Zealand Sheepfarmers' Federation, ihae handed to the Post the following extract from a recent issue of the AusffcraJasiaii dealing .-with, the method adoptie<J ;by the Imipjexial Government for requisiticning the Home wool clip:— were completed some Vweeks ago for giving effect .to "the decision! of the War Office to take over (the whole of tie English and Wales wool cKp of 1916. England and Wales have (been divided into thirteen 'wool areas.' £n each of which a district executive offijcer, with an expert knowledge of woolibuyang, has been appointed to superintend ali wool ■purchases for the Governonent in his area. Each of these officers Lias his -offices, and a, small clerical staff, «md each is to have <the assistance of a local advisory committee, composed in •equal' T numbers of wool merchants and {farmers. Under the supervision of the district officers the purchase will, be made 3>y authorised buyers, selected from the merchants who usually carry on business 6n .the districts. Census forms,_ and ex- - jp3az>a±oTy .leaflets, have been issued to eanners an? most of the areas. The procedure so far as the farmer is concerned 5s certainly simple enough. On the icensus paper he is required to make <p (return of ibis fleeces, and the name of the -burer of last year's clip. An aufthorisea" buj-er, probably last year's ibnyer, will .then inspect, and weigh the and ■estimafe its value in accordance with. a scale of iprices fixed by the Government. The scales for the different districts vary jaccordtrig t 0 local conditions, but they are all based on a 'central scale' (not yet made public), vrhdeh is fouuded on the 1914 (prices, plus 35 per cent. If the farmer has less 'than 80 fleeces for sale the wool will he purchased right out, and) paid' for by the authorised buyer. In other cases 75 per cent, will be "paid within a week of delivery, and the balance when the fleeces !havp undergone final inspection in the merchant's warehouse, and the final valuation has .been made." i