WOOL RESEARCH WORK

Southland Times, Issue 23599, 29 August 1938, Page 8

WOOL RESEARCH WORK

Measures Taken By

Dominions

MENACE OF ARTIFICIAL SUBSTITUTES

(United Press Association)

WELLINGTON, August 26.

A review of the work being undertaken by South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand in wool research was given to the Electoral Committee of the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board at its meeting in Wellington today in a report from Mr H. M. Christie, M.P., chairman of the New Zealand Wool Publicity Committee. Mr Christie, who has just returned from a visit to England, referred to the work of the International Wool Secretariat in London, on which each country was represented by one member. There was also an Advisory Committee consisting of two representatives each of Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. He said there was the same suspicion of the secretariat when it started in London, particularly from Yorkshire, whose wool interests were largely dominated by the . topmakers, who were apprehensive that the organization represented interests which wished to push up raw material prices. After discussions, those suspicions had been removed, and the topmakers were now favourably disposed towards the International Wool Secretariat, and were readily extending help. The work of the secretariat must ultimately result in bringing all branches of the industry closer together and assist in retaining for wool the very high place it had always occupied as a textile fibre. DANGER TO INDUSTRY “A most serious and immediate danger to the wool industry has arisen owing to the disorganization of inter-

national trade, and particularly to the policies of countries such as Germany, Italy, and Japan,” said Mr Christie. “Their difficulty in obtaining supplies of raw material has resulted in an urge for replacement by artificial substitutes, and intensive scientific research is undertaken for their improvement. Following the building up of these industries, there is a tendency to impose restrictions on the natural fibres for the protection of the artificial fibres.

“The urge for the replacement of wool in Germany seems to have been somewhat lessened by the GermanSouth African trade agreement, under which Germany has undertaken to purchase £3,500,000 worth of wool during 1937-1938. I was informed by the South African representatives that the agreement is to be widened. The New Zealand-German agreement may act in the same way, and prominent Australian wool producers are strongly in favour of an Australian-German agreement being arranged. If Germany does not re-export the wool in any form except in place of the present export of artificial fibre, such trade would not seriously affect British woollen manufactures, but a careful study of its results on the business of other British manufacturers is essential, as such trade agreements must increase imports to the wool-producing dominions from the country with which such an agreement is made.

“The economic conditions are largely the cause of the urge to manufacture substitute fibres for wool,” Mr Christie continued. “I feel sure that any wool producer who has investigated the manufacture of staple fibre and zellwoole must be perturbed by its rapid expansion and improvement in the quality of the fibre. It seems clear, however, that people manufacturing it are doing so because of the difficulty in obtaining supplies of raw material, and in some cases owing to violent price fluctuations. Artificial fibre can be worked on ordinary wool-manufac-turing machinery. It must be remembered that these substitutes are comparable with clean, scoured wool. They are 100 per cent, even in count and staple, and contain no foreign matter, such as jute flax fibre or other detrimental matter not uncommonly found in natural wool.”