COMMERCIAL.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIV, Issue 45, 1 February 1924, Page 7

COMMERCIAL.

TIAIARU WOOL SALE. Timaru, Jan. 31. Thy second wool sale of the season here was opened to-night. Buyers were present from practically all countries interested in the wool industry. Competition was keen, especially from Continental buyers. The catalogue comprised 14,418 bales. The 'quality although hardly up to last season’s standard, contained a proportion of useful superior qualities. The highest prices so far as the sale has gone are as follows:—Merino 32|d ; locks 15d, piece,s 26^d, hogget. 30d, bellies 22jd, halfbred good 27d to ‘2.9|d, medium 25cl to 27d, inferior 23d to 25d, crossbred 14|d to 21d, threequarterbred 22d to 23i|d Medium, heavy and inferior merinos were lower and in less demand than half and threequarterbred. . LONDON PRODUCE MARKETS. The Bank of New Zealand has received .the following cable advice irom London under date 2.5 th. inst.: — BUTTER. Exceptionally slow —204 s to Ibbs per cwt, 208 s per cwt. CHEES#. Slow. AVhite 102 s pet‘ cwt ; coloured 104 s. Strike accentuated dullness of markets. FROZEN MEAT. The market for wethers has declined and there is a very poor oe/nand ai lt is thought that prices foi ewes have reached the top. The demand for lamb is still poor. Ox beef is i better demand but there is very little inquiry for cow AVethers: light, 8d to BJd per lb; heavy 6d to 7; ewes s|d to 7d; lambs under 42’S V|d to lid, over 42’s 9d to 9Jd, .seconds 9£d to 10£d. new r season’s 12d to 12|d, Australian 9Jd to 10|d. Argentine 9d to lOd,; ox hinds 4d to 4£d. fores 3|d to 3|d • cow hinds 31d to 4d. fores 3d to 3Jd

CHRISTMAS FRUIT AT LIVERPOOL. This Christmas the fruit supplies of the United Kingdom from Overseas have been sufficient to meet the demands of the market and Liverpool as The great fruit port has at its dockside reflected the pressure of the Christmas trade. In the Mersey Docks at the present time there are ships unloading large cargoes of oranges, apples, pears, lemons, grapes and nuts from, all the countries which specialise in these food products.

Included in the list of steamers are the Marie, with oranges from Valencia; the Cunard liner Ausonia, from. Boston w ; itli apples; the White Star liner Baltic, from New York with apples; the White Star-Doifiinion liner Doric, with Nova Scotian apples and 1200 barrels of Canadian apples; and the Flaminian, from Palermo and Messina with lemons. The shipments of oranges from Valencia and Jaffa have been adequate for the requirements and the consignments of apples have created records. Grapes have been plentiful; indeed more plentiful than at first anticipated, whilst nuts of all kinds have arrived inn generous volume.

, The general opinion of the principal fniit brokers and merchants at Liverpool is that the United Kingdom has this Christmas been able to secure all the fruit and nuts required, and it is hoped that an adequate supply will continue to arraive at Britain’s great northern ' port throughout the New, Year. In the past the South has often been glutted with fruit from the Antipodes, while Liverpool, which suppli.es the mst industrial district of the North and Midlands, has had to go without or pay prohibitive prices owing to the addition of expensive railway, etc., conveyance. FROZEN MEAT. INDUSTRY IN SOUTH AMERICA. By the last mails the New Zealand Meat Producers Board received some inteercsting information relating to the frozen meat industry in South America. The Board’s representative at Buonos Aires wrote as follows qndcr date loch November: — “You are already aware of*lllo stoppage in the slaughter of export beef catttle, caused by the application of the minimum price law, the enforcement of which has been delayed for 180 day.;. Killing has again been resumed, and many lots of choice steers slaughtered for the Christmas trade. ’ The frec urs have so® or maintained prices; but a big drop is inevitable owing to the

large available supply at this season of the year. The quantity of dressed beef in the chambers, and the animals purchased before the Act camo into force enabled the companies to fill up tnvir shipping space, with the exception of odd loti for the Continent, The freezing companies’ business offices have lately been thronged with owners of fat cattle desirous of selling their animals before the fall in prices Sheep: There has been a large offering of all classes of sheep; and val-ies are slightly lower. There has been considerable entries of good lambs around 32 pounds, in more level and fatter lots than are generally marketed hero. There is no means of getting reliable information xogarding the possible killings on the Sout h Coast (called Pategonia in the trade), only there has been an exceptionally severe winter, with very heavy falls ol ! snow, which will cause sheep to be thin in the spring, while there are only natural grasses available in that part of this Republic, where the killing season starts in January and finishes about middle of April. I am inclined to consider that numbers of the Pategonian sheep have been' brought to the proovince of Buenos Aires, owing to the high prices ruling for sheep here. A co-operative society has cohiinenued to build a plant at Desado (Sam.a Crjiz), with a capacity to handle 5000 ;hcep a day, and store 250,000 careases. ’ ’ TRANSIT OF LAMBS. USE OF MOTOR LORRIES. The new method of transit of rat lambs by means of motor lorries to freezing works has induced the New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board to experiment in the direction of ascertaining what the loss in condition amounts to compared with the driven lambs. Opinions differ as to the extent Uiat lambs, particularly early lambs, suffer in condition and general appearruice if driven any great distance as compared with, lambs which have been railed or motored. The tests which are being carried out by the Board have been confine-1 to lambs “off their mothers’’ (urtweaned), but are not yet complete as the season is too far advanced. They will be resumed again at the commenccemont of next season wbth the first drafts of early milk lambs. The result of these experiments will be published when complete and will be of interest to farmers in all distriers.