THE WOOL INDUSTRY

Taranaki Daily News, 1 June 1935, Page 24 (Supplement)

THE WOOL INDUSTRY

THIRTY YEARS’ STATISTICS VALUE OF BRITISH MARKET. Interesting statistics gathered over a period of 30 years about the wool industry in New Zealand are incorporated in a series of graphs and. tables compiled for the New Zealand Wdolbrokers’ Association. They contain valuable information covering various phases that are well worth studying. The graphs are comprehensive, one showing the movements in the prices of wool, anotherthe ratio of local sales with overseas wool shipments, another the variation in the total quantity of wool sold at auction and its value, the. destination of the wool, the average production per sheep and the number of sheep. Referring to the growth of local sales in comparison with the total overseas wool shipments, it is interesting to note that just before the war the shipments of wool totalled 529,000 bales, and the numbered offered was 286,000, or 35 per cent., indicating that very many growers preferred to ship their wool on their own account rather than dispose of it by local auction. During the years of the wool commandeer, from 1914-15 to 191920, of course, all wool was disposed of through auction, but on the lifting of these restrictions the shipment on owners’ account became popular again. During recent years felling by auction has been more widely availed of, and the margin between the exports and sales at auction has been narrowed. Last year the number of bales exported from New Zealand was 805,858, while the number sold at auction was 650,688 or 45 per cent., an increase of 10 per cent. Reference to the variation on the total quantity of wool sold at auction and the value shows that the year 1918 was the most prosperous, the return being £14,760,000 for 628,000 bales. There were 651,000 bales sold in 1933-34—the biggest turnover, for the period under review—and the gross return was £4,450,000. The destination of the wool .sold in New Zealand shows how valuable the retention of the United Kingdom’s goodwill is. In 1901-5 the United Kingdom took 98.62 per cent, of the wool shipped overseas. O recent years other countries have also competed for some of the wool, but last year 66.92 per cent, went to the United Kingdom mills.. In 1929 France took nearly 12 per cent., but this has dropped gradually and last ybar its purchases were only 7.2 per cent, as compared with Germany’s 5.6 per cent. The biggest German purchases were made in 1926, when it took 7.78 per cent. Japan took its greatest quantity last year, shipments on Japanese behalf being 4.85 per cent

Production of wool per sheep has not shown much variation, the average being round about 7.51 b, The maximum so far has been 8.031 b, which are the figures for 1928-29.

Details of sheep population are'interesting as showing the decline from 1918 to 1927, when the flocks fell from 26,500,000 to 25,000,000, and the steady rise to the peak year of 1930, when the total number of sheep reached nearly 31,000,000. It fell to 27,750,000 in 1933, and last year again increased to 28,600,000.