WOOL POSITION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26233, 17 August 1946, Page 3

WOOL POSITION

RECENT LONDON CONFERENCE REPORT OF DELEGATE Mr H. J. Wardell, of Omarama, who represented the New Zealand Wool Board and the New Zealand Wool Disposal Board at the recent conference of the International Wool Secretaries in London, addressed members of the North Otago Federated Farmers yesterday afternoon and reviewed the position of the woolgrower. Mr W. Doig (chairman of Federated Farmers) presided. Mr Wardell said that, in view of some of the criticism heard regarding the Yorkshire men before the delegates left New Zealand, he had found them men with an understanding of the woolgrowers' position and willing to co-operate. The London conference had recommended that auctions . should be commenced at the earliest possible opportunity. With the shipping position easing, it was hoped to commence in September. The reserve price for 1946-47 fixed by the Wool Disposal Board was 16.74 d, less the 7£ per cent, levy, making the price 14.955 d, which must be considered satisfactory. Many factors had to be taken into consideration when deciding the levy, stated Mr Wardell. Australia's was 5 per cent., and South Africa had fixed the same levy as New Zealand. The reserve would be fixed On the present export price of wool, which averaged in New Zealand 16.74 d, from which the levy was deducted. There was no question about the need of wool in manufactured goods, continued Mr Wardell. That position was more especially apparent in Russia and Europe. The world to-day was more wool-minded than it had ever been, and the people of Europe were tired of synthetics. The great difficulty was manufacture, and it seemed that the 1946-47 estimate of 110 per cent, of the pre-war production, probably was an outsize limit. Providing production problems could be overcome, Mr Wardell said he thought .that the future of wool was sound. The increase in wool production which took place between the two wars seemed to meet its limit, and during the war had decreased. It was very doubtful whether the United Kingdom would reach its prewar sheep population. The United States, as third on the wool producing list of the world, could be displaced by New Zealand. which was in fourth place. In South Africa there had also been a drop in the production of wool, and Australia had lost about 20,000.000 sheep through the drought. The Argentine, and to a ICsser extent New Zealand, seemed to be the only countries increasing, and the former was now equal to Australia as a wool-producing country. There could be no over-production of wool, and there was still a tremendous field for expansion for the grower, said Mr Wardell.

An explanation of the International Wool Secretariat was given by Mr Wardell, who also outlined the Droposals for advertising the wool in the United States, where they had hopes for increased markets, and in Europe.