CANTERBURY MARKETS

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19816, 2 January 1930, Page 12

CANTERBURY MARKETS

(BT OCR COMMERCIAL EDITOR.) Tuesday Evening. Merchants are waiting for the new crop to come along. Since mid-Novem-ber nearly four inches of rain have fallen and farmers now seem more optimistic concerning probable yields than they wore two months ago. The Wheat Pooi has sold a considerable quantity of new wheat, forward, to millers, who are said to be now fairly well stocked so far as their requirements in the early part of the year pre concerned. The Pool still holds a i;onsiderable quantity of last season's wheat, and for this, 6s 6d f.o.b. for f.a.q. milling standard is being asked. There is quite a good demand for fowl wheat by the North Island. The price is now 6s Id f.0.b., Lyttelton. SSo far as Canterbury is concerned, old oats are about cleaned up for the season, though the official statistics say that there were 908,619 bushels of oats in store throughout New Zealand on November 30th. It is not possible to state what is the actual value of oats at present, as there are buyers, but very few sellers. When the dry spell was on it was certain that the oat crop was going to be short, and growers were disinclined towards the idea of 6©lling. Potatoes do not come into the picture to any great extent until well into the New Year. The North Island Crows' sufficient for its requirements during November, I>ecember, and January, and it is not until FebruaryMarcli that the market here really opens. There is a larger area in potatoes this year, and tho late rains have helped the crops wonderfully. It is expected that the market will open at about £5 f.0.b., 5.1., for April-May-June delirerv. This is equivalent to £3 10s to £3 12s 6d on trucks. Business was done on this basis a few weeks ago, but no sales have been reported since then. There will be plenty of sacks for the coming season. The price of sacks has not yet been announced by the merchants. Quotations. The following are quotations for produce, to be paid to farmers on trucks, free of commission, sacks extra, except where otherwise stated: — Wheat—6s 6d f.0.b., s.e., a bushel for Tuscan (Pool price); fowl wheat, 6s to 6s Id. f.0.b., s.e., for prompt (free). Oats—Gartons to 3s SJd f.0.b., s.i. Chaff—£s 7s 6d a ton. Potatoes (forward contracts) —£-3 IDs a ton for whites and £3 17s 6d a ton for Dakotas. Bed Clover—4d to 4|d per lb. White Clover—lOd to lid per lb. Perennial Byegrass—4s 9d to os a bushel. Italian Ryegrass—4s to 4s 6d a bushel. Cocksfoot—To 9Jd per lb. Peas—No. l's, 4s 10d a bushel. Bran—£6 10s a ton, f.0.b., southern ports, 10s extra for smaller packings. Pollard —£8 a ton, f.0.b., southern ports, 10s extra for smaller packings. Flour—Local wholesale price £-16 5s a ton for 2001b sacks, with the usual increments for smaller packings. Price for shipment, £l6 5s a ton, f.o.b. PATERSON DAIRY SCHEME. FAR-REACHING EFFECTS REPORTED. (UNITED I'RESS ASSOCIATIOJT-s-BS ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH—COPTRIGHT.) (Received January Ist, 9 p.m.) SYDNEY, January 1. The expedient known as the Paterson scheme, adopted four years ago, by means of which butter producers of Australia subsidised the export trade through a levy on local sales, has had far-reaching effects. Among these has been the additional return during the period mentioned of £10,000,000 to the producers and a correspondingly added cost to the Australian public for butter for local consumption. The condensed milk export trade is aleo feeling the effects of the high cost of butterfat. A leading firm has been paying three pence per pound extra, and it now finds that it cannot compete with overseas manufacturers, and announces a reduction in the price payable ""'to milk producers by the equivalent of a penny per pound of butterfat in New South Wales, 3Jd in Queensland, and lid in Victoria. The matter is being considered earnestly by interested sections of the milk producing and manufacturing industry, in the hope of saving the condensed milk business, i ADVERSE CONDITIONS. A LEAN YEAR IN AUSTRALIA. SYDNEY, December 31. According to the "Sydney Morning Herald" the year just closing has been a lean one in Australia. This condition was brought about by a combination of adverse circumstances, notably the lower prices for primary products, droughts, intense industrial disturbances, and the reduction of oversea capital used for investment in Australia. The profits of companies also have been generally lower, and in some cases heavy losses have been reported. The newspaper predicts another lean year, owing to the fact that deflation has simply been postponed by the high price of wool, and by the great amount of money borrowed in the markets of the world. FOREIGN TRADE IN U.S.A. A RECORD YEAR. (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION —BT ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH—COPYRIGHT.) (Received January Ist, 8.5 p.m.) WASHINGTON, December 31. The Department of Commerce reported record-breaking foreign trade figures, even surpassing the shipments made during and immediately after the war. Both the exports and imports were well in excess of the preceding year, and the United States closes 1929 with a favourable trade balance of nearly one thousand million dollars. The gain in the export trade, however, was confined to the first four months of the year, after which it showed an actual decrease as compared with 1928. WHEAT QUOTATIONS. j LONDON, December 30. Cargoes are firmer in sympathy -with American quotations, which are 3d to 6d I higher. Buyers are inclined to respond. Parcels are in quiet demand at an advance of 6d. Futures in LondoD are quoted: December 50s 6d, January 50s 7d, March 51s 4Jd per quarter. At Liverpool futures are quoted: December 9s s|d, March 9s 10jd, May 10s o|d 1 per centaL j