STATE OF THE FLAX TRADE

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 766, 15 March 1910, Page 8

STATE OF THE FLAX TRADE

INTERESTING FIGUKES. During the hearing of the fiaxmillins dispute before the Arbitration Court ai Palmcrston North some interesting fig ures were quoted to show the conditior of the industry. . The secretary of th< men's union, in contending that tin award had not, an adverse effect on th< industry in the Wellington district, quot ed the export figures for the different parts of the colony. Wellington is tli< only district where the flax-workeri have an award. The figures were as foi low:— f : 1907. 190 S. ' 1909 i Tons. 'l'ous. Tons Auckland 8,950 5,79 a 2,191 Wellington .. — 13,492 10,091 3,33( Lyttelton 960 348 161 Duhedin 1,365 1,179 19; Southland 4,129 3,085 88i The decline in the Wellington figures it was pointed out, was by no mean; so heavy as whero the industry was un regulated. Mr. A. E. Mabin. of Mfessrs. Levin anc Company, who gave evidence for the employers, also dealt with this point and said that if the other districts hat been under the award they would noi have produced anything.' "in Auckland and Southland the flax was very scat' tered and costly to bring into the mills It had been so much cut that green' flaj was getting soiree, and it was becoming • almost-, necessary _to spell the land. In Wellington' the main . supplies came from the , swamps ill-. the Manawatu where the growth .was very heavy, anc the flax could be got into the mill: cheaper than in other parts of' New Zealand. Tho machinery and organisation there was-being perfected, while ir the .other districts the'industry miglil be said' to be practically .in' its infancy, Eurther, the amount invested in flaxniilling in Wellington was very great, and a: large number' of the millers owned the freeholds of their flax lands. Thej must keep' going if' only' to pay working expenses', ' and. even though the'margih of.-profit was reduced "almost to vanishing point. ' Another reason for the small proportionate decline in Wellington was that the' mill known as "the big mill," owned by Messrs:'Se'ifert, had just been completed and had toegun working when the award came, im Its output was 1750 tons, per annum, and but for thi.amount the decline shown would have been much greater—to 7!>SO tons in 1909, or'well on to fifty per cent. - .Mr. Mabin, in his evidence, -also put- is a,' schedule showing the average prices which his firm had paid for flax, g.f.a.q., during each month in the • last < three years.. The figures were as follow. (Th< award came into operation from July, 1907):-' '* 1907. ,1908: 1909. . 1910. ■ .£ ,s.„d.. £ s. d... £ s. d. £ s. d, Jan. 34 7 6 24 5 0 21 7 6 23 17 6 Feb. 35 10 0,23 17 6 21 0 0 22 12 E Mar. 34 5 0 20 10 . 0 20 2 6 — Apr. 32 0 0 20 2 6 19 12 6 — May; 32 0 0 22 12 ' 6 19 17. 6 — June 30 0. 0 22 15 0 20 7 6 — July 30 0 0 22 10 0 21 5 0 — Aug. 30 0 0 22 10 0 23 10 0 — Sep. 28 15 0 22 10 0 23 5 0 , Oct. 26 0 0 22 10 0 24 0- 0 — NOv. .24 15' 0 22 0 0 24 0 0 — Dec. 24 10 0 22 0 0 24 15 0 — Avg. for year 30 0 0 .22 15 0 21 19 0 iThe difference between g.f.a.v. 'and fair was £3 in 1907,- .£2 '55.: in 1908, and - .£1 10s. in 1909.' Not more than' fifty' per cent, of the flax is graded good fair, and the. net average values for the different years, therefore, work out as follow:— ' ' .' ' 1 ~ .1907. ' . ' 1008. ! - ' '1909. " * '£28 10 0. ~£2l 12 6 £21 4 0 The average for the last two years-was £21 13s. 3d. per ton. .As .the cost , of production is'between £20 and ,£2l per ton, the margin, it will be seen, has not been a large, one.: