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Flax-milling. Official statistics, year ended 31st March : — 1928. 1929. 1930. Establishments (number) .. .. .. 70 60 57 Employees (number) .. .. .. 1,020 879 903 Wages paid .. .. .. .. £181,304 £145,348 £147,830 Value of output.. .. .. .. £402,421 £329,340 £319,369 Value added by manufacture .. .. £310,116 £259,856 £234,760 Rope and Twine Making. Official statistics, year ended 31st March : — 1928. 1929. 1930. Establishments (number) .. .. .. 7 8 5 Employees (number) . . .. .. 225 218 219 Wages paid .. .. .. .. £45,680 £41,834 £41,858 Value of output.. .. .. .. £214,344 £187,730 £191,396 Value added by manufacture .. .. £98,660 £81,519 £80,820 The flax-milling industry continues to show a further substantial decline in exports both as regards value and quantity. The depression in the hemp industry is world-wide, and in common with other fibres a smaller demand, with lower prices, is being experienced for the New Zealand product. The export figures for fibre and tow also show a continuous decline during the last five years, as is shown by the undermentioned figures : — Year. Tons. £ 1926 .. .. .. .. 20,798 289,603 1927 .. .. .. .. 19,600 535,526 1928 .. .. .. .. 15,683 394,450 1929 .. .. 14,720 379,942 1930 .. .. .. .. 9,493 221,923 Clothing. Official statistics, year ended 31st March : — 1928. 1929. 1930. Establishments (number) .. . . 215 228 237 Employees (number) . . .. 7,101 7,501 7,852 Wages paid .. .. .. £869,952 £943,198 £970,017 Value of output .. .. .. £2,507,446 £2,691,690 £2,811,013 Value added by manufacture .. £1,198,064 £1,359,753 £1,419,696 Imports, calendar years : — Apparel and ready-made clothing (including fur clothing) .. .. £2,185,134 £2,267,326 £2,091,894 New Zealand factory production continues to show substantial increases; value of output increased by £119,323, value added by manufacture by £59,943, wages paid by £26,819. Imports decreased by £175,432, or 7-6 per cent., when compared with value imported in 1929. Of the decrease in imports the United Kingdom accounted for £99,570 ; France, £42,883 ; and the United States of America, £12,118. Manufacturers allege that the dumping of end-of-season goods from exporting countries and the importation of shoddy material are serious competing factors under present conditions. While manufacturers generally report depressed conditions, some branches of the industry report the position to be satisfactory, these including those engaged in the manufacture of fur goods, hosiery, and shirts. Agricultural and Dairy Machinery and, Implement Making. Official statistics, year ended 31st March : — 1928. 1929. 1930. Establishments (number) .. . . . . 25 26 31 Emplovees (number) . . . . . . 779 826 963 Wages" paid .. .. .. .. £168,483 £183,266 £211,383 Value of output .. .. .. £610,136 £800,911 £844,880 Value added by manufacture .. .. £320,848 £383,597 £420,889 The above figures show substantial increases in 1929-30. The implement-manufacturers, however, report depressed conditions for the current year, due to a large extent to the serious fall in the prices of primary products and to the consequent reduction in the purchasing-power of the farmers. Import figures for drills and sowers show a substantial increase of £10,236, the recorded value being £20,129, an increase of over 50 per cent., and, to a lesser extent, the imports of ploughs have increased by £417. With these two exceptions, the other headings of imports show decreases amounting to £12,401, a reduction in these items of 33 J per cent.

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