CANTERBURY MARKETS

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 85, 9 April 1924, Page 9

CANTERBURY MARKETS

(II tauatipH.—rasss assocutioj.)

■ ', CHRISTCHURCH,' Bth' April. The market is firm for most classes of produce, but the bulk of the business is disappointingly small. Most merchants are concerned with ' covering. forward sales, and are .meeting with some difficulty, in securing the goods. As a result of the position B Gartons have firmed up and for prompt delivery are now worth 4s 4d on trucks. Auckland merchants sold forward very heavily, and the- turn of- the market has been very much against them. Chag for prompt delivery is worth up to £6 per ton on trucks. ■ The heavy quantities reported to be coming to Auckland from Victoria are not influencing the market much in Christchurch as the offerings are not much more than sufficient for local and West Coast requirements. There is a fair amount of opinion to the effect that the winter feed will be so scarce that most of the locallygrown chaff will be required within the province. i On account of the'rains of a month ago potatoes are showing increased growth, and are not yet fit to dig in any quantity., Farmers who generally are enabled to dig in late March do not expect their crops to be sufficiently ripe I until after Easter. This is embarrassin-r merchants who sold forward ' and who are now required to deliver for "prompt." Potatoes are worth £5 10s per ton on trucks. The seed market continues quiet. A good deal of cow grass is being sold to farmers on amount of its relatively cheaper value with other seeds, but the wholesale market is very dull. Quotations to farmers are up to 9id a lb, and cocksfoot showed a shade of firming with no quotable change Peas show no improvement f.Vb.s i values are 6s Bd. '

Iho Bankers Clearing House in London, which settles up all I he cheque transactions of the various banks, dealt with £36,627.592,000 last year, r tet rf £533,869,000 compared with 1028.