HIDES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3468, 31 August 1920, Page 12

HIDES.

- AN UNSATISFACTORY POSITION. A < COMPARISON. A Daily -Limes reporter had a short chat with a Diinedin business man on Thursday concerning the price of hides and conditions governing the hide market generally. •He said the position at present existing regarding hides is very unsatisfactory in so far as it affects producers. It is' well kDown, he said, that the Government-has placed an embargo on the_ exportation] of liides, with a view to assisting the tanning industry to ..manufacture leather at a. low price, .and for the general public to be supplied at fair rates. Under the regulations the tanners' position has been made absolutely secure, but from the producers' point of view positively exasperating. Attempts have been made to hold auction sales of hides, but a salesman finds it impossible to conduct a genuine auction sale owing to the modus operandi adopted by buyers representing the tanning industry. After considerable trouble and labour, a catalogue is prepared, and prospective buyers are' notified. In due course , the assemblage meet for business, and- the auctioneer proceeds to ask for bids, but it quickly becomes apparent that the tanners are not bidding, the only competitors being exporters, and there being no competition from any other source, it will ■ readily be seen that values are in consequence on the low side. But the exporter is' not going to get the benefit of his purohases, because under the embargo scheme the tanners have first option at the price at which the hides were knocked down to the exporter's bid. The tanner stands by and never moves a lip, nor nods his head to bid, but he oomes in at the finish of«-the . sale and scoops up the lots bought by the exporters, and divides them out pro rata among the tanners represented. It is no wonder the exporter is sick of attending auction sales under such conditions, and plainly says that auction sales are a farce and a sham, and he carries his objection so far as to refuse to waste his time and energy for other people to reap the benefit, and no one can blame him. Sales have been effected privately- at much reduced prices as compared with a few months ago. I heard of a large number of good hides bought by tanners, not in Dunedin, at Is 2d per lb for ox, and lid to Is per lb for cow hides. But supposing tanners pay Is' 4-d per lb for ox and Is per lb for cow hides, ' these would have cost them about 2s and Is 8d respectively some months ago, or, in other words, 8d per lb more than they are paying today. Now, a 601b* hide produces 40lb of leather, and a reduction of 8d per lb on a 601 b hide amounts to 40s, or applied to the finished leather is equal to a reduction of Is per lb. Every working man knows, and those who are not looked upon as belonging to that class also know, that when hides advanced in price, leather and boots jumped up with a vengeance, and it is quite percent to ask that now hides are being purchased at a much lower price, have til*

axmufacturers shown the same eagerness to |>wer the price of leather and footwear? There is a general impression abroad aiat » mutual understanding is m existence Bmong the leather and dependent industries, and that owing to this prices are Snuch higher than are warranted, enabling banners and bootmakers to enjoy an unprecedented era of prosperity. If we are to get back to anything approaching pre-war conditions, irritating and «ne-sided restrictions must be removed, and §Sie sooner the present embargo on hides is Sfted the better it will be, and a step forward attained towards getting a square deal ior all concerned.