ADDINGTON MARKET

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 10 February 1944, Page 2

ADDINGTON MARKET

RANGE OF PRICES Christchurch, Feb. 9. Values for all fat stock at the Addington market to-day were on a par with those of last week. The fat sheep entry was about the same as last week, but a greater proportion of rough cows in a larger fat cattle section kept values down.

Fat sheep: An entry of about 4000 included a fair proportion of wethers. There were a few pens of Chatham Island sheep. The quality*was mixed, so that both ewes and wethers showing prime condition were eagerly bought by the trade. The freezing companies took almost the whole of the remainder of the entry at prices about Is a head more than last week. Top price for wethers was 42s 4d for a line of fourtooths and a small pen of maiden ewes made 36s 7d. Two-tooth wethers made to 38s and a line of exceptionally bigframed Chatham wethers sold for 34s Id.

Store sheep: The entry was comprised mostly of lambs, which sold well at an advance of about Is a head on last week’s sale, the improvement being caused by the recept rain. The best price was 21s for a line o fopen-woolled lambs, and another line of similar sheep made 20s. There were several station lines forward, one of 837 halfbred lambs making 11s 9d to 16s sd. A few lines of Chatham ewes and wethers were offered, one of two-tooth ewes making 38s 6d and one of four, six and eight-tooths sold for 20s 9d. A line of four-tooth wethers sold for 28s. A pen of four-year-old local ewes made 235, but most of the yarding in this section was made up of old ewes, which sold up to 11s 9d. Fat cattle: Uneasiness ‘about the effect of the introduction of meat rationing and the acute feed position only partly relieved by the recent rain, was responsible for a crowded yarding in the fat cattle pens, last week’s overflow entry being exceeded by an entry of 620. There was a great shortage of prime beef, while for the number of rough to moderate cows showing the sale was a record. Some were from dairy herds, but the majority were merely unwanted sorts, and the sale they met was in line with their quality. Taken all over, the sale barely maintained last week’s rates. The demand for prime butchers’ beef was firm, but inferior stock depreciated by £1 a head. Early in the sale when the demand for prime beef was best, four from a truck from Pigeon Bay sold at £22 17 s 6d and late in the sale a feature line of 76 Southland Hereford* averaged £l9 18s 6d the top beast bringing £2l 17s 6d A particularly good sale for fat cows was £lO 12s 6d to £lB 2s 6d for 10. Best medium-weight beef averaged 47s' to 50s a 1001 b good 42s to 465. medium to 395, ordinary to 36s 6d. Best cow beef made to 40s. secondary to 345, and inferior down to 26s a 1001 b. Fat pigs: In the porker pens, the yarding was of medium size, and there was a good sale, all buyers competing up to full schedule rates. The chopper entry also was of medium size, but values showed no change. In the bacon section, the yarding was again large and the sale was keen throughout, last week’s better values being fully maintained. The average price per lb was 8d to Bjd.