WOOL PRICES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 81, Issue 7253, 18 September 1950, Page 7

WOOL PRICES

EFFECT ON MADE-UP ARTICLES STATEMENT BY MR. G. A. WALSH “It is very unfortunate that in the earnings of New Zealand’s overseas income so much destructive criticism should emanate from ill-informed soure.es,” commented Mr. G- A. Walsh, chairman of the Meat and Wool section of Federated Farmers, in a statement last week. “These difficulties, contained in designed opposition to wool markets are surely sufficient for woolgrowers to bear without the many rash and foolish statements beingdaily added to their troubles. False impressions are freely circulating which, in the main, aim at discrediting current wool values to the exclusion of other commercial and industrial facts. “The major commercial fact that is not receiving due. regard is that of all our exports wool alone commands the same purchasing power in wool markets to-day as it possessed in pre-war days. “Our other large exports—meat and dairy produce have lost ground heavily in their price relation to that of imported goods. “By way of illustration it requires twice as many exported fat lambs to Britain to-day to pay British ‘ prices for textiles or machinery but a given number-of bales of wool are able to provide precisely the same import articles for New Zealand consumption now as they did in 1938.” Prices for Woollens “However, it is on the industrial side on woollen products that the greatest harm is developing,” said Mr. Walsh. ‘Public misrepresentation has reached he stage where wild exaggerations are flowing even from the Houses of Pariament. Without taking the. trouble to verify their claims responsible parties are prophesying all kinds of ‘woollen cloth’ rises which they say must follow the rise in basic wool prices. “The simplest method of showing the falsity of these assertions is to consider the build-up of a suit of clothes (as an every-day essential commodity). These per cent, figures are taken from an authoritative source and apply to a suit costing, retail, £2l 12s Bd. Greasy wool, 5-87 per cent., £1 5s 6d; manufacturing and distribution, 21.29 per cent., £4 12s; tailoring and retailing, 72.84 per cent., £l5 15s 2d. Increase of Only £1 5s “The suit concerned is a high quality man’s suit made from good quality New Zealand cloth,” said Mr. Walsh. “It is obvious that if wool doubled its present value, to quote a very remote possibility, it would only appreciate the suit cost by £1 5s a suit or, put the interesting way, if wcoigrowers paid all freight and .gave the wool to manufacturers for nothing it would reduce suits £1 ss. A 4001 b. bale of wool will return to New Zealand somewhere between £7O, and £BO at current valqes. Compare this with the price the public pays tor the 80 suits manufactured from that bale of wool—£l6oo to £lBOO. “And yet the people are being led to believe that sheep farmers are exploiters, inflationists and various other forms of public enemies,” he added. “New Zealand should feel very thankful in the possession of a great woollen industry—our only production acceptable to markets the world over“Finally, we are on the way to overcoming our dollar shortage, and it is mainly wool that is achieving the miracle. New Zealand was pioneered and developed on the golden fleece. It seems destined to continue leading the way.”