WOOL STOCKS

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVII, Issue 23114, 31 January 1945, Page 4

WOOL STOCKS

Liquidation Essential

(Rec. 10.3 p.m.) SYDNEY, Jan. 29. An Empire association to liquidate existing stocks of wool is advocated by Mr J. P. Abbott, a member of the House of Representatives, and vicechairman of the Australian Wool Board. The association, said Mr Abbott, should consist of representatives of Britain and the three wool producing Dominions. When hostilities ceased, the British Government would hold at least 10,000,900 bales of wool, which would be needed to clothe the people of the world. This wool should not be thrown on the markets at sacrificial prices. A conference should be held in London as soon as possible to avoid delay in setting up the necessary machinery. Australian growers felt that a return to pre-war methods of selling wool by auction would lead to a catastrophic fall in wool values. They had asked the Commonwealth Government to seek an extension of from three to five years in the existing purchasing scheme. The bulk of the purchasing of Dominion clips should be continued until the liouidation of surplus stocks held in London.