Programs of Foreign Governments for Fiber-Flax Production

Report Introduction: Flax is grown in a great many countries of the world and is found on every continent. In the world as a whole, approximately 5 million acres of flax are planted each year, from which a production of nearly 2 billion pounds of fiber is obtained. The areas of greatest production are in eastern Europe, but northwestern Europe is also important as an exporting region. It is natural that any crop so universally cultivated could be produced more economically in some countries than in others and that quality would vary with the different regions of growth and methods of production. In periods of war when normal trade is disrupted among nations, many countries which were not especially interested in flax-fiber production for economic reasons became extremely interested for strategic reasons of supply. Consequently, flax cultivation in many countries has had a tendency to decrease during periods of general peace and to expand during periods of major wars. (The Soviet Union is an exception.) Adequate increases often can be obtained only with much encouragement and aid from the central government concerned. This report is written to present available information concerning such government programs for flax production in foreign countries. Because greatly increased production occurred during World War II, by Allied powers to substitute for European flax and by Axis powers to substitute for cotton, most of the material presented relates to the war period. Data are incomplete for many countries and none are at hand for others, but those which are readily available are presented in the belief that they will be useful. Information is based largely upon reports from Foreign Service officers. Prices and other currency amounts are converted to equivalent values in United States dollars and cents on the basis of the average official rate of exchange for the year concerned.