LONDON COMMERCIAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9726, 23 January 1895, Page 6

LONDON COMMERCIAL NOTES.

[from our own correspondent.]

London, December 14. Wool.—l am glad to be able to report that the serious decline in prices which marked the opening of the last wool sales did not prove permanent. As the sales proceeded, and especially towards their close, a marked improvement in feeling and buoyancy became manifest, and in the end the prices closed at about par with the previous sales' rates. In some classes the prices were five percent, down, but on the whole the sales concluded under vastly brighter auspices than those under which they opened. Frozen Meat.Mutton is risiug in price "in spite of the imports from Hew Zealand of frozen sheep," aa the Glasgow Herald remarks. But that paper goes on to suggest an explanation the reverse of complimentary to the New Zealand product. "New Zealand mutton," it says," may be a perfectly wholesome article, doubtless it is, but there are few Englishmen or Scotchmen either who would not rather pay 9d per lb, for the juicy and tender chops from a home-fed blackfaced wether than 6d for the solid gigots cut from the carcases of New Zealaud ewes, tougheued by age and by compression, devoid of juices, and. with fat spoiled by freezing, and derived to begin with from breeds adapted for the production of first- j rate wool, but only second-rate mutton." This is neither kind nor just, but it may serve as a further warning to New Zealand exporters against sending Home any more old ewes or coarse unsuitable sheep. And the Herald adds a prediction which may form a crumb of comfort to New Zealand wool-growers. " A general revival of trade, such as is confidently predicted, cannot fail to operate beneficially on the price of wool." This long-looked for revival cannot come too soon. • But it still delays its advent. Frozen meat, too, has looked up a little this week. Prime New Zealand mutton is much firmer, although no higher prices can be obtained than last week's best. There is a brisker demand, and the tendency is for prices to rise rather than fall. Indeed the Australian and River Plate mutton and Queensland and American beef, which was at a dismally low point last week, has experienced rise ranging up to id per lb. New Zealand mutton yesterday was quoted at 3jjd to 3&d per lb for best and 3d to SJd for secondary. The exceptionally mild weather is, however an adverse factor in the meat markets. Under to-day's date, Messrs. Henry S. Fitter and Sons report:— The weather during the past fortnight has not been so favourable for the meat trade, and it has been necessary to shorten the supply of frozen mutton on the market in order to maintain the improvement in prices. There has been a fair supply of home-killed mutton, and, although the trade has been slow, prices have kept up fairly well. Best quality Continental mutton is now coming short, but there is still a very fair quantity of medium to inferior quality, prices for which fluctuate a good deal, according to the condition of the meat on arrival. The improvement in prices of Hew Zealand mutton has been maintained, and although [luring Christmas the demand will probably be rather slow, there is every likelihood of m improved demand with the New ear, and a possibility of clearingoff soracof thestalesheep which for some time have been accumulating, [f it were not for these stale sheep and the large stock of frozen mutton still on hand, New Zealand mutton would at the present ;ime be making very satisfactory prices. The supply of Australian and River Plate sheep is good, and the quality of some of the former has improved. Prices still show a slight improvement on our last quotations, and if the market is not pressed daring Christmas, there should be no difficulty in maintaining the improvement. American beef has been arriving in rather less quantities, and prices are firm. This has increased the demand for the Australian frozen beef, which has been selling more freely. Hind quarters are firm at last quotations, but fore quarters at the moment seem short, and prices have gone up.. Dairy Produce.—Pointed attention is at

present being directed to the butter supply of England and its " whence." It seem? that very little English butter is sold in London, where the consumers prefer French, while some give actual preference to margarine. Danish butter, which is Salter than French, goes chiefly to the north of England. In the first ten mouths of this year England paid eleven million sterling to other countries for imported butter. It is naturally asked why this money could not have been earned by the distressed British fanner. The

answer conveys a moral which New Zealand will do well to lay to heart. It is that abroad a scientific 3ystem of manufacture is pursued which enables uniform and permanent qualities to be relied upon, whereas in England there is little or no co-operation ; every farmer makes his own butter in his own way, and consequently its quality can never be depended upon from one week to another, while the small lots sent in give too much trouble to the large buyers in examination and tasting. Margarine now is always of excellent quality, and competes formidably with English butter, though this is exceptionally plentiful and cheap in the present winter, owing to the unusual abundance of feed for cattle. But in its turn margarine has a dangerous rival in Australian and Mew Zealand butter. " The time is rapidly coming," says one London daily, "when Colonial butter will rule the market, for it assures to us a supply of ' grass' butter, when heretofore we have had to be contented with ' fodder' butter." It is added that " Colonial butter is at this moment conferring great benefits upon the consumer." By the lonic came the first consignment of butler carried at a low temperature (below 20deg.) as suggested by Mr, Reynolds, and the result appears to be very satisfactory, the butter being delivered in excellent condition. Mr. Reynolds seems greatly pleased with the results of his visit to New Zealand, aud confident that marked advantages to the dairy trade will result from the various arrangements he has been able to make, both with the New Zealand Government and with producers. Mew Zealand butter has been quoted this week at the same rates as Australian, which is a decided step in advance. "Choicest" has been fetching £5 4s to £5 8s; " best," £4 16s to £5 2s. Both of these quotations are for creamery" or "factory" butter. Secondary and inferior qualities (which include all dairy and farmers' butter), £3 15s to ii 10s. Here again the excessive mildness of the weather operates unfavourably on the colonial produce market. The demand for colonial butter always slackens as the weather becomes milder, and such has been the case this week. Danish butter has gone down in price, aud has forced down colonial butter with It. Thus the latest quotations for this week may show a serious difference from the earlier ones.

Danish butter has been sold for £1 10s less than the same butter fetched a mouth back.

The market is also becoming glutted by the excessive rush of imports, which amount to 32,217 cwt more than those ot last year. There is no New Zealand cheese in the mar-

ket, and I suppose there will be none for the present, so I need nob waste space on that item. In an interview with a press representative with reference to the New Zealand

dairy industry, Mr. Henry Reynolds spoke as follows about the position and prospects of the trade:—"The Government are waking up to the fact that the dairy industry is a most important one, and that it is really the only method by which small settlers can make a satisfactory living. We do not wish to ask for a bonus on the export trade, but for facilities, which the State can easily afford us, for - developing the business. This season there will be an increase, I am happy to say, of about 20 per cent, all roundthat is in the putting up of factories and the output of cheese and butter. We are steadily forcing ahead, and I am satisfied that within a very few years the output of New Zealand will not be very much behind that of Victoria. As the frozen meat trade

has developed so will the dairy industry develop. We have the climate and we have the pasture, and now that a number of refrigerators have been erected in the different factories you may look for a > higher class butter."