GRAIN AND PRODUCE.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7142, 1 September 1888, Page 4

GRAIN AND PRODUCE.

With the —_»t_.uance of cold wet weather in England and France, the wheat mart—t is still advancing, and for the first time for many years past it has -reach ed _Qs per quarter. This price is most satisfactory but —-fortunately holders here are not able to reap the full benefit of it, owing to it—ing next to impossible to —cure the necessary tonnage to meet the de mand for Home shipment. Possibly the coal rstrike in Newcastle may compel some vessels to head to our ports, but at the moment shipowners are very firm in their ideas. Naturally the advance in-—rope has induceci a better enquiry here both for intercolonial and interpr&vincial requirements, and during the week several lines have changed hands at the prices given below. It is now very difficult to give reliable quotations for this cereal as the market Is very sensitive, and ono day may alter its whole com■pte—on. Oats are slightly -firmer, "but Stocks are comparatively light- Barley ! —Us for _io comme nt, being, as usual at [this .period of the year, quite dormant. Ryegrass continues to move off; not so —tpialy, —jwev-r, as holders would like. For cooksfoot there is little or no enquiry. Potato— still continue to command attention, but the demand is scarcely so firm, as the appearance of the Ballarat crops in the Sydney market has checked any—rther advance there. Dairy produce > ie without change. i The following are quotations of the day:— W—dr.—Priine milling .. 3s id to 3s 3d Chick wheat .. "23 — to _s fid -Oats—M_fn«T 2s to 2s Id Stoutshor.feed .. Is —cttoaslid -Inferior _n»des .. Is9d BaXler _-d TftttHHdtißß I! } n ° m ™al Beans .. " ." •• -s3dto__6d Peas 2s s_ato_ — Ryegrass 2s Sd aye«niss (machined—s_ed) 2s Od to 3a3d Cocksfoot _3dto3_d Flour - .. — 10-to_-. Oatmeal .. -. --. ... ._" _i Pearl—rlcy £3 Potatoes.a—.tmt-TStationa 55s Bran - —3 Pollard — 10s Oat sheaf chaff £2to_W3 j Gat straw SOsto—s Battor—Prime.. -. .. Sd tolOd I Cheese .. "3idto__d Hams and _oon—_«lo_.. 7|d TheatovejHio— Co.— Exchaxge Report fox week end-ing—-iday, August 38th:— •English wheat cables advise us that the market is still rising, but against this freight has an upward tendency, and at present is difficult to obtain at any price. Negotiations are, however, being carried on with a viewof inducing some of 'Newcastle coal vessels to come down in balk—t to load wheat; if successful, it is not likely that the freight will be much lowered. During the week -considerable transactions have —ken place in wheat, i up Co 3s 3d being freely -given 'for prime large liii — of i'usc&n, aid 11 miter's at Id less. Lin— now changing are ..principally ex store parcels. T.0._l millers are takip.g Tip all theiiard wheat!t—t is offering. The oat mark—isveryquiet. few outside orders tjo ming to hand." Jioiders, however, are j , very firm in their demands. We expect a i better tone in the course of another month. , Very little prime barley is offering, and buyers of seed pat—ls have to give —11 ; value. Maltsters, however, as yet have ! made no stir. Grass seed is a drug on the Hiarkel, aud faruie— ia want of goo"d seed are able to get their requirements nt a very reasonable rate. Potatoes are, perhaps, not quite so firm at—s6d. Dairy produce has seen its highest, and may at any moment recede in value. We quote as follows: — Wheat—Tuscan and pearl, Ss 2d to Us 3d; Hunter's, 3s Id to os _d; chicken wheat, broken, Ss to _s 4d, Oats—Milling,-s Id to 2s 2d; shortfeed, 2s; Danish, Is I<— to ls lid. Barley—Prime malting, nominally _ t j 4s3d ; medium, 3s to 3s Go. Peas—Prussian blues, 2s _ to 2s 86; feed, 2s Id to _s —. Beans, —6d. Grass Seed—-Vlachine-dressed, 2s „ to 2s 9d; farmers' parcels, ls lOd to 2s 3d; cocksfoot, 3Jd to Sid for clean heavy seed, and 3d for second quality. Potatoes——s fid aicoimtry stations. Dairy Produce — Pome butt—, IOd; pastry, Jd to 6d. Cheese, 3d to 3Jd for large, 3_d to for small. The above prices __ those paid to farmers for delivery Lo.b., sacks extra. Messbs W__K— astd -Sons' report on last Saturday's market, as follows: —The day being fine, there were large supplies of pigs and poultry, and a good _ten*d—ice ot the public The -sale commenced with •boot —0 pen* of poultry. __s,.i__t, _

2s to — 6d; special sorts a little higher; young roosters, 2s 6d to 3s 6d; ducks sold well at 3s 6d to 4s; geese, good supply, 5s to —; turkeys, hen t>irds 6s 6d to 7s, cocks from 12s to 18s per pair. Mr H. Bennettsold pigs, &c. Some nice young sows at 465, 455, -I—, 38s; porkers, 4 at 24b, 2at 22s 6d, lat 21s 6d; stores, a large number from 7s 6d up to 17s 6d, according to size and quality. Horses sold fairly well. Two spring carts were sold, one at £15 ss, the other £7. Produce—Seed barley, rather thin, sold at 3s 6d ; middling ryegrass, 2s 6d. Po—t—s, 5s 6d per sack; seed do, according to quality. A quantity of timber, corrugated iron, Sec, was also disposed of. The inside sale comprised hams, bacon, cheese, drapery, hardware, harness, fish, fruit, &c, which sold well. The New Z__i_kt> Loax and Mercax—us Agency Company. Limited, report on the produce markets for the week ending 31st August, as follows :— Wool—Until the opening of the fourth season in London on ISth September, we shall have nothing of interest to report regarding this market. A recent press cablegram, reading "The wool market is firmer," refers, no doubt, to the dome-tic clip now being marketed, which is encouraging to shippers of crossbreds. Locally there is a good demand for merino and fine crossbred wools for manufacturing purposes. Sheepskins—The yards were well supplied on Thursday, and amongst the many lots brought forward were several lines of very prime crossbreds. Competition was good, and previous rates were maintained, except for dry skins, which suffered from the absence "of one or two well-known buyers. Butchers' best crossbreds made 5s 2d to 5s Sd, medium to good 4s od to 53, small and out of condition 2s 3d to 4s. A few selected lines realised upwards of 6s. Merinos were well competed for, and best quality ranged from 4s 6d to ss, good 3s 9d to 4s 4d, medium 3s to 3s 6d. Country skins were not in heavy supply, and from causes above alluded to did not realise the extreme rates lately current. During the week our sales covered 2200 skins. Tallow and Fat—Supplies this week were on a limited scale, and buyers readily paid lid to l.d for well-saved country lines ; Inferior made Id to ljd, and medium tallow 14s 6d to 16s. Hides—Australian quotations continue to have a depressing effect, and present rates are only maintained with great difficulty. We quote 601b and over, 4d per lb; under 601b, 8d per lb; calfskins, 4d per lb ; cut, damaged and dead hides, l_d; -milhides, 12s <xl each. Wheat—English advices continue of a very favorable tenor, prices at Mark Lane having shown a steady advance from day to day, which has been responded to by a corresponding advance here. Several important transactions have transpired during the week in merchants' parcels at 3s to 3s 3d f.0.b., and the market closes firm at the latter figure for good Tuscan. We have heard of two vessels being taken up to load at Lytteiton, but the price paid by charterers is 37s 6s per ton.for port of call; 35s is the current for London direct, and from latest cablegrams to hand in the freight market, it seems probable that j rate-; -will touch 40s, unless the miners' strike at Newcastle releases some vessels there, and they accept lower rates. Second quality wheat has shared in the improvement, and inferior milling is now worth 2s 8d to 2s 9d ex store, whilst whole fowl wheat commands 2s 6d to 2s 7d, seconds 2s to 2s 2d. Oats.—A firmer tone prevails in consequence of an impression that Victoria will not increase the tariff on cereals. Prime milling commands 2s Id to 2s 2d, good short feed 2s Id, and inferior to medium feed ls _d to ls lid to.b. Barley.—This market is without animation, and quotations are nominally sustained at 4s 6d for good, plump, clean seed, 48 2d to 4s 4d for fine malting, 3s 9d to 4s for medium, and 2s 4d to 3s 7d for inferior. Beans and Peas.—There is really nothing to report regarding these lines, as no business is passing. Potatoes.—A very irregular market prevails, due chiefly to the divergence between holders and shippers in regard to values. Sales have been effected at 50s, whilst with special delivery conditions as high as 57s 6d has been paid. Cocksfoot Seed —A fair enquiry is passing for sowing, but the demand for export has entirely subsided. Heavy machinedressed sells at 3§d to 3fd, farmer's dressed at 34d, and ordinary seed at 3d. Rye-grass seed Itas seen good business at 3s to — 3d for clean heavy dressed, but rough farmer's lots are difticult to quit at *over_s. Dairy Produce — Returns of consignments to Australia are fairly satisfactory. Net proceeds of butter show ls to ls 4d per lb, and of cheese 3Jd to od lb, according to quality. Several parcels of Canterbury cheese have sold well in Sydney and Brisbane, but the bulk of shipments are considered inferior to previous season'smake. Our dairymen must look to this. Mr D. Thomas (late of Matson, Cox and Co.) reports upon the live stock market in the Ashburton district for the week ending August 31st, as .follows:—At Tinwald on Tuesday a comparatively full entry of •sheep, cattle and pigs was submitted to one of the largest _tdiences of farmers, dealers and others that I have seen at the yards for some time. Evidently most of them came on business intent, biddings being brisk in consequence, resulting in a total clearance of my entry at values which ought to be satisfactory to vendors. I dispose-of 3857 sheep, 40 head of cattle, and 10 pigs (selling some of them twice over) as _o-lows, viz.:——B crossbred hoggets 9s, 286 crossbred hoggets 9s —, 250 merino wethers 6s 3d, 88 crossbred hoggets at Bs, 98 crossbred hoggets at 9s Sd, 102 crossbred hoggets 10s 6d, 110 -crossbred hoggets lis 93, 68 crossbred -hoggets lis, 131 merino ewes in lamb 7s, 184 -—11-mouth merino ewes in lamb 8s Id, 115 merino ewes 3s 2d, 165 two-tooth crossbreds 12s 4d, 15S merino ewes in lamb 3s and —3d, 150 crossbred ewes in lamb lis —, 282 crossbred two-tooth ewes and wethers 13s, 121 do do 10s Id, 242 crossbred ewes and wethers 13s Sd, 60 fat crossbreds .12s, 670 crossbred hoggets 9s sd, 1.8 merino ewe* 6s, &c. In cattle I sold 13 head fat £410s to £610s, 5 head at £317s 6d, 1 at £3 12s 6d, 1 at £310s, 1 at £2 10s, ami 20 head calves to yearlings 15s 6d to £1 8s each. In. pigs I sold 2 sows in pig at 43s each, 8 young pigs 15s 6d each. Private Sales—During the week the demand for fat and store sheep has been abnormally brisk, heavy exchanges being the result. I have sold for Mr D- Morrow 640 crossbreds at I—, and 351 merino wethers at 15s, delivery on the farm. These sheep were remarkably well grazed and heavy weights ; 800 crossbred wethers for Mr J. Kemp lOs 6d, 2000 mixed sheep for Mr Ha wdon at price withheld, 1000 fat crossbreds for Mr Sommerville at price withheld, 700 crossbred ewes for Mr McDowall at lis 6d, 500 crossbred sheep for Mrs Gibson 14s _d, and several smaller lines at fully equal values. A very, large number of store sheep could be absorbed in the Ashburton County, a great number of farmers not having a sheep to their j name, and they are only waiting for sheep to get cheaper (which they wont do this ! season) to purchase freely. I Grain—l disposed of a large line of wheat during the week, 40.-00 bushels at 3s per bushel, in tracks Ashburton.