H.—44.

Woollen-manufacturing. Official statistics, year ended 31st March : — 1928. 1929. 1930. . Establishments (number) .... 12 12 12 Employees (number) .. .. 2,451 2,576 2,478 Wages paid .. .. .. £381,561 £399,560 £364,549 Value of output .. .. .. £1,209,150 £1,236,578 £1,085,279 Value added by manufacture .. £627,305 £647,699 £612,793 This industry reports depressed conditions, sales having declined and staffs having been reduced. Imports have also decreased by the substantial amount of £120,393, due in some measure to bank exchange rates operating adversely against imports. At the present time a demand is being experienced for knitting-wools for home-made garments. The import figures given hereunder indicate the competition from overseas in woollen, cotton, silk, and artificial-silk piece-goods. All these competing fabrics show substantial decreases, the total decrease for the three groups being no less than £419,053.

Printing and Publishing. Official statistics, year ended 31st March: — 1928. 1929. 1930. Establishments (number) . . . . 346 358 350 Employees (number) . . . . 8,053 8,322 8,255 Wages paid .. .. .. £1,805,690 £1,838,262 £1,859,182 Value of output .. .. .. £4.411,052 £4,642,725 £4,772,811 Value added by manufacture .. £3,276,179 £3,476,787 £3,569,680 The production figures show substantial increases, value of output increasing by £130,086, value added by manufacture by £92,893, and wages by £20,920. Competition is reported as being extremely keen, due, it is stated, to smaller volume of business offering. Some establishments have been compelled to reduce staffs, and conditions generally for the past year have not been bright. Brush and Broom making. Official statistics, year ended 31st March : — 1928. 1929. 1930. Establishments (number) . . .. .. 9 10 14 Employees (number) .. .. .. 223 215 239 Wages paid .. .. .. .. £38,192 £40,332 £41,733 Value of output .. .. .. £120,130 £111,898 £135,047 Value added by manufacture .. .. £65,046 £67,074 £73,212 Imports, calendar years : — Brushes, brushware, and brooms .. .. £76,291 £81,963 £78,003 The above figures for 1929-30 show a substantial increase in value of output of £23,149 as compared with the figures for the previous year. Value added by manufacture also shows an increase of approximately 10 per cent. Conditions are described as sluggish. Competition is keen ; the number of employees has decreased ; and prospects are not bright. Complaint is made of the prevalence of dumping of overseas brushware.

Approximate Cost of Paper.—'Preparation, not given ; printing (1,250 copies), £36 10s.

Authority: W. A. G. Skinner, Government Printer, Wellington.—l93l.

Price 9d.~\

26

Piece-goods. 1927. ! 1928. 1929. 1930. £ £ £ £ Artificial and pure silk .. .. 831,782 1,001,569 1,211,335 1,020,019 Woollen .. .. .. .. 787,986 7,85,593 742,649 622,256 Cotton and linen .. .. .. 1,794,847 1,863,355 1,841,997 1,734,653