JAPANESE BUYING

Taranaki Daily News, 6 October 1934, Page 16 (Supplement)

JAPANESE BUYING

IMPERATIVE NEED FOR WOOL. REASONS FOR CONTINUANCE. . Some time ago it was reported that Japan intended to divert its wool purchases from Australia to some other country if the Commonwealth did not take an increased quantity of Japanese manufactures. It was considered in some quarters that this policy would be put into operation at this season’s Australian sales. There is no evidence that Australia has yielded to the threat, and one of the two strong buying elements at the Australian sales so far is Japan. This is as most close observers anticipated. If Japan is to keep up its exports in its own special class of textiles, the main concern is to get suitable raw material, and in effect there is only One place to secure it. Then, the newspapers were flooded with accounts of Japanese policy in wool raising in its new Chinese territory. Again, the more careful observers pointed out that the unsuitability of this country for sheep. In any case Japan is in a most primitive position in the sheep and wool industry. The following paragraph shows just how far the country has to go before it can get any distance in providing its own raw wool requirements:— The Japanese Ministry for Agriculture has completed the free distribution among farmers of 300 Corriedale sheep from Australia under the project of a former Minister for Finance (Mr. Takanashi) to build up the wool industry and to provide distressed farmers with an additional means of living. It is understood that the Finance Ministry will be asked to provide funds to buy more sheep. Farming households will employ winter leisure in spinning and weaving cloth for their own needs, and for the army’s clothing, the mills taking the surplus wool. The lambs will be returned to the Ministry for distribution to other farmers, thus numbers will be constancy doubling. z