WOOL SALE OFFERINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18585, 18 December 1923, Page 10

WOOL SALE OFFERINGS.

- 'V..V )V j-S "i 1; t V?' "i ! . REASONS FOR LIMITATION. POWERS OF- COMMITTEE. ■ ■ . r*'c\J ■- : i-i'b. Z'r •••• ■ ■•> • V RISK OF BREAKING MARKET. _«_ 1 ( - Protests from Wanganui . against the limitation of th« . offerings r- at ; the next wool; sale have directed attention to. the operations of- the Wool Committee. The latter, which has. jurisdiction throughout New Zealand, was constituted in y June, 1921, under the Board of Trade Act. when the slump in' prices ' had seriously «,«isorganised the market. , It comprises a representative of 'the Government, who is chairman, two representatives of woolgrowers and two of wool-brokers. Regulations were then : made authorising . the committee to fix minimum prices for the various kinds and grades of wool and 'to 'fix the maximum quantities that might he offered for sale, either privately or publicly, in . any: period. Similarly, the export of wool was prohibited without the sanction of the committee expressed in a certificate that the regulations had been observed. * Subsequently a regulation was' made fixing the minimum average price at 5d per lb. for all wool pC 56's quality and under, and 9d for wool of over 56's quality. The* committee worked in co-operation with 8.A.W.8.A., which held heavy stocks when the slump occurred. Even under the changed'conditions, it has been considered advisable to continue this system. Explaining the methods adopted by the committee, Mr. A. W. Perkins said yesterday that, upon information furnished from the j various districts, the committee makes van allotment of the - quantity of wool to be offered at the various >ale 6, the order and dates of which are fixed with a view to the convenience of the buyers. "There are various reasons for this limitation. The interval between sales is determined :by the time occupied in travelling from one centre to the net( and the time required by buyers to inspect and appraise the wool to be sold.; If buyers proceed to a town expecting catalogues totalling 20,000 bales and find 30,000 bales on offer, the' time available between the closing of the catalogues and the opening of the sale would be too short to'permit a thorough examination of the wool, and buyers would probably be the first to protest. Another consideration in fatfOur of- the distribution of . -the season's wool ovfer the whole series is that it ensures a sufficient offering at each sale to induce buyers to return to the later sales. If eacn district were allowed to rush all the available wool into the market, catalogues toward the end of the season would be so small that it would be difficult to obtain the attendance of buyers In the »b sence of regulation, it is also considered, there would be a tendency to overload the market when attractive prices were ruling. As to the suggestion that the visiting buyers were fully informed as to the Dominion's production off wool, Mr. Perkins said that while it was not supposed that the system of limited offering* created any illusion as to the total supply, it was evident that the buyers' had no objection to it, as they had. not made any complaints, whereas they would almost certainly do bo if the offerings were subject to no other influence than the willingness of growers to sell, as the result would inevitably be such a congestion of. the catalogues that the buyers would not be able to handle the wool. On the whole, it was generally believed that the control by the Wool Committee was in the ,of the woolgrowers.

COMMITTEE'S AUTHORITY. NO MANDATE FROM GROWERS. [bx telegram.— association.] ' WA27GANUI. Monday. ; Discussing the action of the Wool Committee in regard to the Wanganui wool sale, Mr. W. J. Poison said he thought some measure of control would be beneficial in the wool industry.. He had been informed by brokers that frequently there -is a slackening in the bidding when orders have been filled. The larger the offering, the sooner the slackening occurs. " , "It is one thing to control an Industry when there is an authorised mandate from the producers concerned," he continued, "but it is another thing to attempt control without that sanction.. I think the Wool Committee has a questionable claim to represent the woolgrowers. Unlike other bodies, they have expressed themselves as definitely opposed to control, and possibly are still of . the same mind. If such . is the case, they have a right to object to control now. It is the duty of the Government to put this matter upon a more satisfactory basis. I am satisfied the producers never contemplated the Wool Committee continuing in existence and controlling sales in perpetuity. It. tis acting under no apparent mandate other than an absolute Gazette notice. ; Its present action now is more likely to prejudice Wanganui than, to assist the producers to obtain better prices." a .