New Britain herald., 1922-06-23
HUGE SLUMP FELT
 IN JAPAN COTTON
Spinning Industry Affected by l >AnteWar Reaction

Tokio, June 2s.-Cotton spinning , which is the most important industry
 in Japan. is threatened with a serious
 crisis. according to the Diamond" a
 Tokio commercial newspaper. The Industry enjoyed an unprecedented
 prosperity during the war boom and all the spinning companies reaped enormous profits and some of them
 paid dividends as high as 70 to 100
 per cent" says this newspaper.
 This not unnaturally drew the at-
 tention of capitalists with the result
 that old concerns enlarged their manu-
 featuring capacity and number of
 new factories were started. When the
 panic occurred in 1920 the market
 suffered from an over supply of cot
 ton yarn and the spinners were
 obliged to curtail the output by mu-
 tual agreement so as to prevent a.
 further slump of the market. Owing
 to artificial means applied to relieve
 the depression of business what is
 known as an interim boom occurred
 last summer and 1t lasted for several
 months. This had the effect of fur
 ther encouraging the establishment of
 new spinning. concerns. On account
 of the interim boom the spinners abolished the restriction agreement
 from December last with the result that the output since that month has been steadily increasing In Febru- ary last however, a reaction set in and the depression began in real earn est The stock, rice, cotton, yarn and other merchandise markets began 10 slump in quick succession, while the amount of specie kept in Japan abroad rapidly decreased owing to the large volume of imports ordered dur ing the interim boom last year. The domestic consumption of cotton yarn has greatly decreased as may be in- terred from the partial or total stop page of work in almost all the weav. ing districts. In the opinion of those who are we'll informed with the con- dition the prevailing depression will last at least for year or two and the demand for piece goods consequently will be less.
 During March and April last the export of yarn to China was compar- dllNEly dCllNe-dDOul 3b,uuu pdlCo were exported each month, but since the outbreak of hostilities the export to China has declined to a negligible quantity. Even should the export to China remain on the 10000 bale level that would not be a very influential factor in the face of the fact that the monthly output of cotton yarn is re- turned at something like 20o.oo bales. It is true that part of the yarn pro- duced IS consumed by the spinning l companies themselves for the manu- facture of cotton cloths for export but as the export of cotton cloths is as l inactive as that of cotton yarn they will not be prepared to go on with the manufacture of cotton cloths that cannot be sold. According to statis- ! tics 50 per cent of yarn produced is l consumed in the country and the re- maining 40 per cent is exported but | owing to the falling-off in the domes- l tic demand it is feared that the mar ket will inevitably suffer from over | supply.
 Moreover, the rapid development l of the spinning industry in China in recent years, coupled with the keen | of British, American and | German goods and the proposed rais- ing of the tariff of China and India,