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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT
prints are the main items. Production in 1958 was estimated to be in excess of 250,000,000 square yards. Most of the production is exported but there is a tendency for this to decrease. As the quality of locally woven and finished cloth improves, the Colony's garment manufacturers turn the more readily to utilizing local materials. Other products of the Colony's weaving industry are silk and rayon brocade of traditional Chinese design, tapes, webbing and lace, carpets and rugs.
Dyeing, printing and finishing of textiles in the Colony has shown a marked advance during the past few years, although this section has rather lagged behind other sections in speed of develop- ment. Multi-colour printing, pre-shrinking by several processes under licence and polymerizing for the production of 'drip-dry' fabrics are undertaken for use by the local garment industry and for export. A large new finishing mill is scheduled to commence production shortly.
An almost unlimited range and variety of garments is manu- factured in Hong Kong, the most important being shirts. Silk and brocade house and evening coats, tea gowns and embroidered blouses, underwear and nightwear have a world-wide popularity in quality markets.
Custom and mail-order tailoring, principally of men's suits, has developed in recent years into a considerable industry. Suits of excellent cut and quality, in whatever material is required, are exported all over the world.
The Colony's knitting mills 'produce towels, tee-shirts, singlets, underwear and nightwear, swimsuits, gloves, socks and stockings in cotton, silk, wool and rayon, and other fabrics.
Felt Hats. The felt hat industry is mainly concerned with manu- facture from imported hoods or imported discarded hats; one factory carries out the entire process of manufacturing from wool. Hong Kong is one of the largest exporters of cheap-quality felt hats.
Enamelware. Production is principally of brightly coloured household utensils suited to the requirements of South-East Asian and African markets. More sophisticated designs, however, are also manufactured.