LINEN FLAX INDUSTRY

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27443, 1 September 1954, Page 12

LINEN FLAX INDUSTRY

CORPORATION REPORTS ON OPERATIONS (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, August 31. The Linen Flax Corporation last year lost £16,622, according to the annual report presented to the House of Representatives today. Depreciation amounted to £6693, and realisation of plant and stores at the Washdyke factory showed a loss of £1644. After the Government’s decision to discontinue the industry, and pending a direction as to the disposal of finished fibre stocks, those stocks of 290 tons were valued at the current value in Britain of £225 a ton. If it was decided that the stocks should be retained for New Zealand consumption they would under present conditions realise an average of £3lO a ton, and the difference in total value would more than eliminate the loss on the year’s operations. Straw that was written off in 1952 when it was considered to be too poor a quality for processing was now expected to realise about £5OOO, for use in wallboard manufacturing. The corporation’s losses had been of some concern to the Government, the report said. In spite of every effort' to keep down the cost of production, this still was substantially higher than the market price of fibre derived from heavily-subsidised flax industries overseas. Discussions had

beep held with growers on an alternative to the closing of the factory. The Government had indicated its willingness, if a suitable co-operative scheme could be framed, to pass the industry to the growers.