WOOL PRICES

Southland Times, Issue 23733, 3 February 1939, Page 9

WOOL PRICES

To The Editor

Sir,— Perhaps as the date for the Invercargill wool sale approaches it would not be out of place to make a few remarks with regard to the ruling prices. Today I received the valuation for my clip based on the prices secured at other centres. All I can say is, that it is an insult to a self-respecting man who has been in the wool growing business for 40 years to expect him to take the prices qt present offering. Where do the wool growers stand today, with costs up in every directionin some cases over 100 per cent —and wool the same price as it was in 1900, 39 years ago? What inducement is it for a man to spend years, in trying to improve his flock and raising it to a standard he might be proud of, if he is asked to accept a price under what it costs to produce? We want an average price of at least 1/- a pound for crossbred wool today to make ends meet There must certainly be a showdown soon unless buyers wake up to the fact that there are other walks of life besides wool growing. Unless they are prepared to pay a reasonable price for the raw article, wool growing will soon become a sideline instead of one of the main industries in this country. We are told that the statistical position of wool today is sound and competition keen. Why then are we not getting a payable price? Is it because of the increase of artificial fibre? Or be-

cause we are not well enough organized among ourselves to demand a payable price? No doubt advertising has been an enormous success in our fat lambs industry at Home and I think we should adopt the same lines with our woollen industry. What is our Wool Committee doing in New Zealand and why cannot we get some report of their activities. Certainly brief reports come to hand occasionally from our representative, Mr McArthur, but what about our New Zealand committee? It is up to that .committee to let us hear from it occasionally, and I trust, Mr Editor, you will assist in the matter.—Yours, etc., COCKATOO. January 31, 1939.