IMPORT CONTROL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 13 April 1939, Page 4

IMPORT CONTROL

THREAT BY FRENCH WOOLBUYERS LARGER SHARE OF NEW ZEALAND'S BUSINESS WANTED ] Crpes A«».eiationl riIKISTCHURCH, 121 I, April. An ultimatum that unless some adjustis made in the import control regulations to allow France a larger share r>l New Zealand business, French voolliuyeifi will boycott New Zealand sales for (lie rest of this season afi-r the Christchurch sale and permanently thereafter, is reported to have been delivered by I tcrn h woolbnycrs in New Zealand to the Minister or Finance, .Mr Nash. The ultimatum, it is reported, will expire on 17th April, two days before the final Dunedin sale. One more sale in Wellington will be held after the Dunedin sale. The buyers are said to be working under instructions from the French Government, which resents what amounts to a b-tal prohibition of French imports into this country. GREAT INTEREST Oreat interest has ben displayed in the loiijih and final wool sale of the season, i- to be held on Friday. The catalogue • l |p largest for this season, comprises 29. GOO bales, and a large proportion of it is hi the types in which trench buyers are g< nerally particularly interested and for • v hich there is virtually only French competition. k appears that, no action is likely to be taken that will have any ef- !>■( t on the Christchurch sale, but it will ■» • ret ailed that the sudden cessation of French bidding, particularly on piece wools, in Napier had a marked effect on The French buyers would make no tatetnrnt this evening, and would neither .-onfirm nor deny the truth of the rumours. I hey said, however, that something might b • made public on or about Monday next, 17tl. April. The I t* ii h objet lions to t lie import cOiii.hl system were, it is stated, first conveyed to 1 he Minister of Finance about ibv.e weeks ago. when the Minister pro "ij-rd <•» give * lie matter consideration. Nothing further has been beard from the ■•HVc.ume.it since then. SERUM S DISQUIET CAUSED J he proposed action of French interests a* been known for about three weeks, lias caused serious disquiet in the •ol trade. The cancellation of the fourth Christchurch sale if the French buyers derided to carry their threat into effect been discussed, «s the sale without Ff .t'h support would result in a very ,v.e.v drop in prices. '•:a:re is an important buyer of New /-air.nd exports and after Great Britain •i'e n c.-t important buyer of wool. Though the imports from France are comparativeI.’ unimportant, the main export from Nr - Zealand to France is wool, whence J 1,041.941 worth of a total of £12.325,000 went in the 1937-38 season. In 1927 imports from France were valued at £192,593. A cording to the Year Book the total favourable trade balance with France in that

year was £822,343, which was the thin ; largest, though as purchaser of export: Fjancc occupied only sixth place. In 19£T j France took 1.99 per cent, of New Zealani I exports and was responsible for 0.42 pe j cent, of the imports of this country, bu I both figures were well below the averagi f of the 10 years before that. Asa buyer of wool France is imporlan mainly because of her continued interes in piece wools and lower descriptions ■fo* which there is only a limited market I ouisde. The actual figures of French buy ing do not tell the whole story of the t ' operations on behalf of that country at | New Zealand wool sales because French | | buyers bid on very much more than they take and thus have their effect on prices, j