NEW ZEALAND FLAX

Taranaki Daily News, 3 September 1929, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND FLAX

NEEDS OF EXPORT MARKETS.

CONTINUITY OF SUPPLIES.

The necessity for greater production of New Zealand phormium hemp has been stressed on many occasions by Government officials and others in close touch with the industry. Mr. Robert Burns, of Messrs. John Burns and Co., Ltd., whose firm has been interested for many years in the hemp export business, and who has recently returned from England, comments on this aspect of the industry as follows: “During my recent visit to England I took the opportunity of interviewing a good many of my friends interested in tho New Zealand hemp market, friends of many years’ standing, and the universal complaint I found both from manufacturers and merchants was that the quantity of New Zealand hemp available was too limited.

“The manufacturer’s point of view was that they had to adjust their machines to handle New Zealand hemp, they could not buy sufficient to keep their machines on it, and had to alter their machines again when they went back to sisal or Manila.

“The merchants’ point of view-was the unsatisfactory market, because they could not depend on a continuity or sufficiency of supplies, whereas there was always a very large quantity of sisal and Manila hemp available. The amount of New Zealand hemp available is so small as to be almost negligible, and a number of the merchants have proposed to give up handling New Zealand hemp altogether unless the export of this article from New Zealand increases.

“In so far as the quality is concerned, the users are perfectly satisfied with New Zealand hemp for the purposes for which they have been in the habit of purchasing it.

“I was agreeably surprised at the absence of complaints as to Government grading, both merchants and manufacturers seemed to be quite satisfied with this.”

In view of the above it may be stated that the production of hemp ,in the Dominion should, within a few years, show a noticeable increase from the flax plantations now being established in various parts of the Dominion. Out of 8000 acres being planted by one company about 3500 acres have already been planted, and early in the New Year the milling plant is to be erected to deal with the leaf from the first planted areas of this company.

The importance to New Zealand of the development of the industry will be realised from the fact that over a period of ten years iu the Manawatu district, millers paid an average royalty of £1 per ton on the green leaf purchased for milling purposes. In the wild swamp areas, taking the crop over a period of years, the average annual yield of leaf would be from seven to nine tons per acre. On the basis of the average annual royalty paid to the owners of the swamps, the net return from the land greatly exceeded that obtainable from dairying. _ The output of leaf from the'’plantations will undoubtedly be much larger than from the wild flax areas. The New Zealand Government figures estimate a yield of from 20 to 30 tons of leaf per acre per annum off properly-established plantations under suitable soil and climatic conditions when the plantations icach full maturity, and this estimate is according to authentic information received from the Argentine Ministry of Agriculture, being largely exceeded in tho matured plantations of New Zealand phormium tenax established in the Argentine. If these figures can be obtained in New Zealand, and as the natuial habitat of the plant everythin should be in its favour, then taking into account tho advantages, of the permanent nature of the ci'op, and one which requires the minimum of attention, the industry should assume greatly increased importance as a source of wealth to tho Dominion.