THE POTATO MARKET

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 213, 8 September 1926, Page 4

THE POTATO MARKET

CAUSE OF SLUMP. ' TOO MUCH "PAPER BUSINESS. - Concerning tlie marked fall ;n potato prices which '.ins taken place recently the Lyttelton "Times"' :n\n: -Tli" fact of the matter is that the decline is rot natural ami ha« been brought about hy speculation. A great deal of the Tiusiness in potatoes "lately, it i- stated, nas been 'paper' husiness. and it is this that has depressed the market. This depression, of poursp. afTerts the ordinary potato tnids. This week potatoes were sold as low as £3 15/ a ton, f.0.b.. S.i . which is equivalent to about £2 a ton on trucks at country stations. Tt is 'pap er ' potatoes that )iave gone as low as this, but actual potatoes are also ai ceted.' Forward I(iiyer3 have lost n great, deal of money. In case? they have cant-piled out at a loss of between £4 sml fo a ton. On the oth2~ hand forward sellers have made money. Of course it is not likely that any .grower would accept a« low as £2 n ton for his potatoes, or. indeed, anywhere near this ficure. Most powers would probably rather leave tlieir potatoes in pit altogether than accept such a. price. Therefore, it seems prohable that when merchants come on the market to buy actual potatoes from growers there will bo an improvement in price. In fact, it seems that merchants will pjmply have to pay more money if they want the potatoes. T'p to the present time legitimate r>otato trade has been carried on largely by supplies of potatoes held in store. The fitore stocks are now prttins; down to small dimensions Tt is estimated that the nuantitv held in store at Lvttelton does not exced 4000 sacks ami of this quantity proliably 1000 sacks consist of seed potatoes, whilst the bulk of the balance consists of Dakota?, for which there is n very poor demand as compared with ■whites.