Private selling of wool in New Zealand: an economic study

Abstract

During the period 1964-1966 a study was made of wool sales through marketing channels not involving auction methods. Sales of slipe wool were not investigated. In general, this thesis will be concerned with characteristics of these sales during the 1965/66 period, with only occasional reference to earlier or later aspects. The findings of this thesis have led the author to firmly believe that wool assembly and wool selling can be done with similar facility by both traditional auction and non-auction firms generally – some non-auction firms being more efficient and some less – but presumably the latter will decline in importance over time. It seems quite clear cut that wool assembly should thus be left for both types of firm to freely compete for, but not so evident that both types of firm should be left free to sell the nation’s wool. This is not to suggest that only auction firms should be left free to sell the national clip; if any changes are to be made, then the selling facilities of both types of firms should be subsumes into a single nation-wide selling corporation.