FREE OF COST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 127, 30 May 1940, Page 4

FREE OF COST.

; WAR MATERIALS PLANT. SUGAR COMPANY'S GIFT. (.KSTCKK TO GOVERNMENT. (Received 2 p.m.) SYDNEY, this day. The Colonial Sugar Refining Company has decided that the factory which it has erected for the production ot war materials should be established at. the company's own expense, free of cost to the Federal Government. The factory ha* begun work. An earlier message said that in moving the adoption of t'ho report on the eonipany s business lor the pas't year a.fc the annual meeting ot shareholdeiw ot the Colonial Sunar Ketining Company, Ltd., yesterday, the chairman. Mr. E. R. Knox, saiil Australia had produced trie lai-gest crop on record, approximately 900,000 tons. This year's crop would not be so great, owing to three cyclonic disturbances in the northern sugar districts.

The output of sugar from Australian mills in the past" year was 180,030 tons, but there had been a slight falling off, due to unfavourable weather conditions, in Fiji, whore the sugar output was 114.000 tons. Mr. Knox referred to the. British Government's purchase of the whole of the Empire's 1039 st'ocks of sugar at slightly above the existing market value, and said :l somewhat similar arrangement bad just been made in rospect of the HMO season's stocks.

The report was adopted. The retiring director, Sir Xonnau Katcr, was reelect'ed.

The distillery at Melbourne is being built to produce industrial alcohol suitaible for mixing with petrol to produce firstgrade quality. The plant ie estimated to ccusl' about £100,000.

EXCHANGE RATES.

NEW ZEALAND QUOTATIONS. Following are the latest rates for purchases and sales of foreign exchange quoted by the Bank of New South Wales. Auckland. They are subject to alteration without notice :— To £1 N.Z.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES. (Received 11 a.m.) LONDON, May 29. Foreign exchange rates are:—New York (dollar), 4.00%; Montreal (dollar), 4.45; Paris (franc), 176%; Milan (lire), 62.0; Hongkong (dollar), 14 31-32; Shanghai (dollar), 4 9-64 d; Stockholm (kr.), 16.99; Batavia (fl.), 7.44 to 7.54; Geneva (fr.), 17.90; Bombay (rupee), 18d; Kobe (yen), 17 13-16 d; Buenos Ayres (pes.), 17.75.

STORTFORD LODGE YARDING.

<By Telegraph.—Press Association.) HASTINGS, this day. Few quality lines were on offer in the fat c-attle section at Stortford Lodge yesterday, and as a result selling dragged. Any prime ewes which did come forward, however, sold at high rates to keen competition, and in this respect the market was dearer. A few pens only of store cattle were yarded, and most lines were slightly easier compared with recent sales. The store sheep market was generally firm and in some instances slightly improved over last week's rates. The good pens offered sold to ready competition, good breeding ewes particularly attracting attention. Another large yarding of fat sheep came forward, but again prices were well maintained, competition being ready for all prime pens. Realisations were:— Fat Cattle.—Bullocks, tope, £12; heaviest heifers, £9 to £10 5/; lighter, £7 10/; cows, tops, £7 10/ to £9; plain and light, from £3.

Store Sheep. — Breeding ewes, young sheep, good order, 22/ to 25/6; older lines, 13/6 to 16/; two-tooths, 25/; ewe lambs, 16/4 to 16/10; forward wethers, 23/ to 23/5; two-tooths, 22/1. Store Cattle. —Weaner steers, £2 2/6 to £2 10/; two off, £6 7/; empty cows, £3 15/. Fat Sheep.—Extra prime lamb*, 32/9; others, 17/ to 24/7; prime ewee, 26/6; good quality, 21/6 to 24/6; wethers, tops, 25/ to 25/6; others, 20/8.

ADDINGTON ENTRY. (By Telegraph.—Frees Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, Wednesday. The Addington market showed little change from last week. Store sheep: Six and eight-tooth wethers, 17/3; others, 9/ to 11/; best ewes, to 17/; ordinary, 13/; culls, 6/3. Fat lambs: Exporters operated on the 9%d schedule and exceeded this for a good proportion of the yarding. Fat sheep: Freezing elieep, to 17/; prime heavy wethers, 31/ to 33/6; tops, 36/4; ordinary, 23/6 to 29/; best ewee, 24/6 to 27/; specially good, 34/4; medium, 20/ to 24/; lighter. 15/ to 19/. Fat cattle: Good beef made 36/ per 1001b, and medium 34/. Prime steers, £12 10/ to £15 15/; heavyweights, £17 17/6; lighter, £8 10/; good |heifers, £8 15/ to £10 5/; extra prime, | £13 7/6; poorer, £6 5/. Fat pigs: Pork-| I ers, average price per lb, to 7%d; baconere, 7d to 7VnL !

Currency. Buying. Selling. New York. dol. 3.2542 3.2050 Montreal, dol. . 3.0089 3.5290 France, franc . 142.61 140.70 Greece, drach. . — 412.70 Italy, lire ' — 47.72 Noumea, franc 144.41 138.50 Papeete, franc 144.01 139.05 Switzerland, fr. 14.532 14.180 N.Z. pence to— Hongkong, dol. 18 21-64 19 India & Ceylon, rupee 22 5-32 22 40-G4 Manila, peso .. 36 9-16 37 7-lf. Shanghai, dol. . — 5 31-32 Singapore, dol. 34 41-64 35 41-64 S.A.. £N.Z. £S.A. 100 123 0 0 125 0 0 London, £N.Z. £stg. 100 124 7 6 125 0 0 Australia. £A. £N.Z. 100 ... 100 10 0 100 0 O Fiji. £N*.Z. 100 90 0 0 88 12 «