TEXTILE SUPPLIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27573, 15 December 1950, Page 6

TEXTILE SUPPLIES

Continued Shortages Likely IMPORTERS’ DIFFICULTIES Special Correspondent WELLINGTON, Dec. 14. A shortage of many imported textile items appears likely next year even if the import restrictions are eased. It seems probable that nylons will be short again, and carpets will also be difficult to import. The view is expressed in the trade that any easing of the import restrictions are eased. It largely nullified by the difficulties m securing supplies from England. The rising price of wool appears to have created a very difficult problem for buyers. Many English manufacturing firms, according to one buyer, will-now buy wool only against orders, and the price quoted is that which the market will require at the time of delivery. Buyers are thus virtually asked to order goods without knowing the price. One buyer showed a line of samples the quoted prices of which, he said, meant nothing, as he had received a cable message stating that they would be adjusted in accordance with the ruling prices at the time of delivery. Naturally, buyers would be reluctant to buy under these conditions, and this would be a further factor in increasing the shortage. The British rearmament programme, with its demand on man-power, metals and textiles, combined with heavy American buying in England, has caused a decrease in the amount of goods available, it is stated. The improvement in the position since the war has now received a setback, and firms are holding stocks available for delivery. The quota system is back again, but in some cases it is impossible to order at all. The increase in the wool price is not the only factor involved. It is not generally realised that, although wool has risen sensationally to about nine times the pre-war price, cotton has been gradually rising to about seven times as much as it was then. Last season’s American cotton crop was a disastrous failure, and this adds furtVipT. riiffir'iilties.