COMMERCIAL.

North Otago Times, Volume CV, Issue 13933, 16 July 1917, Page 8

COMMERCIAL.

DUNEDIN MARKETS. GRAIN AND PRODUCE REPORTS. : * ' • .' DUNEDIN, J'lly 14. There is nothing to report 6o;;far as the local wheat market is concerned. Offerings are very small, but' where suitable these are purchased by millers at the Government fixed rates. The big cargo of Australian wheat landed , in Dunedin by the Government is now tlio chief cereal being milled : locally. Oatmeal is quoted at £2l a ton fpr 25's; pearl barley, £l9 10s; pollard, £7 5s (fixed by the 'Government)-; bran, £l (fixed by Government). The oats market continues in a stagnant condition. There are. but few of-, ferings frdro the country, and very little inquiry from the North; Island. \No-minßllyjpricW-'remain. unchanged, but quotations'6x6 very irregular. Consignments of chaff are quite equal to the demand, which is on the quiet side. Buyers are showing an inclination to deal more in medium quality. The potato market is weak. During the week ,a line of 20 tons of prime tubers was purchased for troopships at £5 os, on trucks, Taieri, This price, is, however, no indication of current values, as £5 ."is is now the current value for choice lines, ex store, Dunedin, As

already stated, a large quantity of potatoes in stove ill Dunedin fire diseased, ami holders, are .experiencing great difficulty in quitting these. Cantei'huiyi is, dominating the North Island demand, quoting £4 us to £4 10s, f.o.b. The quality of the northern tubers, is, however, not too good, and is is said that the North Island merchants are in some instances declining to take.delivery Whether this fact, will ultimately help the local market remains, to be seen. > The price of eggs has hardened :t little during the week. Onions are in short supply. There was a small yarding of pigs at Burnside on Wednesday, the,supply being nowhere equal to the demand, and prices consequently were higher than last week's rates. There was very keen competition. • Best baconers realised tip to 8d per lb and best porkers up to Sid

per lb. Current wholesale prices are as follow: Chaff—Prime oaten sheaf £5 10s to £0 15s; medium to good, £4 10s to £5 (sacks extra), ) Straw—Oaten, to £3; wheatcnj to £2 ss,

Clover hay, £l3 5s to £5 15s. Potatoes—Prime lines- £5 per ton; medium lo good £4 (sacks in), Melbourne onions, llis per cwt. Eggs—Fresh to Is Gd; preserved, Is 2d to Is 3d, Butter—Milled bulk Is 3d to Is 4d per lb; dairy and separator, in lib packages, Is to Is 3(1, Honey—Bulk Gd, 101b tins, 5s Gd; 21b pottles 15s to 16s per dozen; 21b tins log.

Pigs—Baconers, Sd per lb;/porkers, 8d to Sid. Bacon—Rolls, local, Is 2d; Christchurch, Is 2d; sides, Is Id; hams, Is 2d; ham rolls, Is 3d. ' TIMARU MARKETS. TIMAM, July 14. Though there is a keen demand for milling wheat very little is offering.

Whenever ft line has eome on tlic.mnrket I it is readily tnkon■. at,, the fixed price. It is. thought" that holders of. the diusold portion of the last wheat crop avo until August to sell, lis the maximum prices allowed, will- then be paid, namely, os lid for Velvet, 5s lOd fpv Hunters, and 5s 9d for Tuscan. Fowl -wheat, is 111 short supply, and finds a ready sale iat a penny per bushel ldss" than . milling 'wheat. There is good demand for" seed-wheat, if which apparently a good deal Will ret be sowii, The ailtumn sown crops icver looked better than they do this vinter. • |

' The oat market . is in a curious position. 'While it is difficult to buy it is also-difficult to sell at the prices asked. Ths position seems to be that thoso who ■hold oujs want them for their own use. Shipments are still being landed in the Niartli Island from Australia. For good seed oats farmers are paying 4s to 4s Gd, ■ivliile for feed lines prices range from 3s ild to lis lOd on .trucks, country stations .

There is strong inquiry for bright., heavy oat-sheaf ' chaff" at £4 5s to £4 10s per ton, but there is a difficulty in getting freight to enable it to bo shipped to the North Island, Contrary to anticipations in : some quarters the potato market has shown an improvement during the week. The market is in a very unsatisfactory state. Northern inorcliauts report that tlicy ait' able to buy at 77s Oct to SOs per ton f.0.b., s.i. . The equivalent to this is £3 to £3 5s at country stations in South Canterbury, but values here today are quoted a shade higher than this —£3 us to £3 10s, country,stations, sacks in. Purchases have been made during the week- at £3 and £3 ss, but some growers refuse to sell at these valuations. Speculators have paid higher prices for freshly-graded lines, but whether tlioy have been justified in so doing remains to be seen. There is a .general demand for seed lines, and it would appear that in the spring a largo, area will go into potatoes. Town sections, previously uncultivated gardens, as well as country fields, are my being prepared for tubers.

OAMARU MARKETS. Grain, The state of the marked can be summai'isoil as decidedly Ila\ llerehnls have never experienced a qmet.;r week for some considerable ti'.nr, an! very little tliang'- is rcOfl>i i.n jrnm from last week's quotation. Practically nothing is offering. The whc.il market is quiej: hk, nr.'y one small line of Tuscan, aim! thirty bags, being sold lo millers at Governmeat prices. The second shipment of Aiistralinn wheat is now en voyage, and will shortly be landed at Auckland. The following shipment is due for the South Island.

Oats,—Offerings in oats are almost nil, and about the only line passing was a feed line of eighty-four bags of B grade Gartons at 3s S4, on trucks. A small line of undressed grass seed at 4s Sd per bushel was secured at country siding, Potatoes.—The market is still easier, and a drop from the previous quotations to from £3 5s to £3 10s is recorded, Stock, ) The stock market is exceedingly dull. Inquiries have been frequent, but 110 offerings have been made. The present time, however, is an off season for stock, All classes of sheep have been in' de-

marnl, but feiv sales have; taken placein the district. Prices genel'&lly ruling remain as at last week "

Sheep.—A line of 1260 mixed-sex hoggets changed hands at 27s jkl, this being jOiie of the, largest in tlio market.. Broken-mouth ewes ranged from 25s to 27s 6d, and, sound-mouths were quoted; at 335, young ewes 32s fid to 38s, and ewe hoggets 27s to 295! Cattle.—Business in cattle has been quieter, and 'quantities of fat cattle are arriving from Southland, though secured at high prices. - Two and n-iialf-year-old heifers ranged from £7 to £9 10s, yearlings from 32s to £3, according to quality.