WOOLLEN GOODS

Southland Times, Issue 19518, 18 May 1922, Page 2

WOOLLEN GOODS

DEMAND FOR COLONIAL PRODUCTS. MILLS UNABLE TO SATISFY ORDERS. (Special to the Times.) CHRISTCHURCH, May 16. The New Zealand woollen mills, despite the altered conditions of trade, are still unable to fully meet the demand for their manufactures. In the war and immediate post-war period the industry received a big fillip owing to the general scarcity of woollen goods. Woollens are now being imported . freely again, but the demand is stilL ,extraordiiferily keen for the colonial products. According to a merchant who discussed the question with a Sun representative, warehouses have to ration supplies of colonial make woollens to their customers. Before the war the colonial made article had attained no great popularity, but it made good when the chance offered by war conditions came along. The keen demand for it, so it was stated, is responsible for prices keeping up, although there have been some reductions. Many people, of course, have retained a preference for the English made product, but even under equal conditions as to price certain lines of colonial made, such as underwear, largely attract buyers. The reduction in the wages bonus will reduce milling expenses to a fair extent so there is some expectation that prices of New Zealand woollens may slightly cheapen in the near future.