TEXTILE TRADE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23046, 24 November 1936, Page 10

TEXTILE TRADE

CONDITIONS IN LANCASHIRE LOSS OF MARKETS SEVERELY FELT (Special to Daily Times) AUCKLAND, Nov. 23. The Lancashire textile trade would never be so prosperous as formerly until the markets lost during the past 15 or 20 years were regained, said Mi D. Wiltshire, a director of a Manchester textile firm who arrived by the Aorangi on a business visit to New Zealand. To regain those markets seemed to be impossible, he said.

Lancashire could not have it both ways, however, Mr Wiltshire continued. One of the briskest trades in the country during recent years had been the export of cotton manufacturing machinery to former markets such as Japan, China, Canada, Brazil and Argentine. These countries were now making all or a large part of their cotton goods. Through the long depression in the industry parents had put their children into other trades and the strange position now arose in certain districts that there was a shortage of skilled weavers. Employment had been assisted in Lancashire through the building up of the rayon industry and latterly through the manufacture of munitions and aircraft, but there were still many former cotton operators on the “ dole.” How serious had been the loss of trade since the war was indicated by the fact that of an original total of between 500 and 600 cotton mills between 300 and 400 had to close down. Mr Wiltshire said. Numerous remaining firms had not paid a dividend for the past five years, and the shares of many stood far below their par value. The depressed conditions applied not only to the mills but also to the wholesale distribution trade