COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15747, 23 October 1914, Page 3

COMMERCIAL.

MARKETS AND THE WAR. J I LITTLE CHANGE IX POSITION j I GREAT BRITAIN'S OPPORTUNITY. There has been very little change in the. condition of business since the beginning of the war. The money market still counts against active business, but confidence Kvms to be gradually improving, especially since it has become more certain that the trade, routes can be kept open, and that there will bo sufficient steamers to take our produce away. The insurance rates are the clearest evidence of the work the licet is doing, and the reduction in the war risk on the Atlantic to 7s 6d per cent, marks a great step towards the absolute safety of .shipping. Shipping: A fair amount of business has been put through on the wharves during the week. Imports are not so conspicuous when (hey arrive via Sydney, but the transhipments lately landed have been very considerable in the aggregate, and fill up a number of useful lines. Direct steamers are also beginning to arrive again more regularly, and this week several shipments have been discharged. Next week will also be a busy one in regard to both inward and outward shipping. ' German Trade: The British Government is making great efforts to secure for British manufacturers the trade with the colonies and with neutrals, which was before the war largely in tho hands of Germany and Austria. The Colonial Office is obtaining full information regarding the principal imports into each colony from Germany and Austria, and also the products exported to those countries, inviting, also, full samples to illustrate the trade The self-governing Dominions are already in a position to give all such information through their trade Commis- | sioners, and it is intended to give traders and manufacturers full opportunities for inspecting the samples in a central exhibition. The Board of Trade is working in the same direction, and . has obtained details with regard to certain trades, so that manufacturers can establish themselves in neutral and colonial markets in those classes of goods hitherto specialised in by Germany and Austria. The trades being first dealt with are cutlery, iron and steel ware, hollow ware (enamelled or tinned). woollen and worsted piece goods, and cotton hosiery. To the United Kingdom itself there are heavy importations of manufactured articles from the enemy countries, the values of some of tho principal lines in 1913 being:— £ Apparel .. .. .. .. 1,200,000 Cotton manufactures .. .. 7,000,000 Dye stuffs .. .. 1,700.000 Fancy goods and embroidery .. 1,200.000 Woollen and worsted manufactures 2.000,000 Leather manufactures .. .. 1,200,000 Toys and games .. .. 1.200,000 Electrical machinery .. .. 700,000 The key to the position as regards the balance of trade that may be altered by the war is shown by the complete figures for 1913. British imports from Germany and Austria amounted to £88,000,000, compared with £681.000,000 from tho rest of the world; whereas exports to those countries were worth £45,000.000. the rest of the world taking £480,000,000. It will therefore be seen that while British manufacturers and coal miners lose a market for goods valued at £45.000,000, they secure a home market for double that value formerly imported from Germany and Austria, unless iu the meantime some other country secures the business. Besides this, there is the vast world commerce which has been painfully and laboriously built up in recent years by Germany, and to some extent by Austria. With their industries stopped, their shipping disorganised, and their credit impaired, the enemy cannot continue to hold any but a small share of the export traclo to foreign and colonial markets during the war. How much they will bo able to regain after the war cannot be estimated. To capture as large a portion as possible of this world-trade is the work of the immediate future. Other alert rivals are in tho field. The prize is too rich to be long left unclaimed, and if those concerned with British trade take no prompt action on the lines pointed out by the Home Government it is certain that other countries will do so. Produce: Stocks are somewhat bare, on account of only a few Southern steamers

arriving. However, there will be large | shipments to hand shortly, as the Wait*- , mata and Victoria will be arriving next week, and the Tarawcra has brought a general cargo. The markets do not seem at all upset by the rain in Australia. This j wi.'J, no doubt. improve the crops there, but it is too late to assure a full harvest. Potatoes: Stocks are light, and will continue so until next week, and the price j remains at £3 15s ex store. Market is rather dull in the South., as buyers will j not operate heavily so late in the season, j Onions : As no" Sydney steamer arrived l.his week, stocks have run very low. A r ew American have been shipped to Auck- j [and from the Maitai at Wellington, and i here will also be a few Victorian arriving lext Monday from Sydney. Price is firm it 21s, but the hii'h price is greatly check- j ing sales, especially as fresh vegetables i ire rather plentiful. Oats : Firm in the South, and price has , idvanced quite a penny. Locally there 3 no change, but feed still selling at 3s 6d , ■X store. Stocks are getting rather short, nit the Waitemata is arriving with a largo ! hipment. j Wheat : Market is firm for milling ! trades, and the fixing of the at. 5s 3d nstead of 4s 9d has not greatly relieved j he position. j Fowl Wheat: Stocks light and price irm. I Flour : Local mills have advanced the. I price 10s per ton since the proclamation ; raising the limit for wheat. i Maize: A good shipment arrived by the ' hLaeo, but. it has not been easy to place. ; Jemand is certain! qiiijt, especially in i •iew of the high price of wheat. Chaff: Demand is falliiiL' off a little, Hit price holds firm in the South, as there s nut very much left. | Bonedust : With no steamer from Sydney this week, store stocks have worked >n* a little better. , Sugar: All grades of sugar were ad- ] rained 20s per ton yesterday. Salmon: Latest, reports from San Fran:iseo show that the present pack will be ibout two and a hall million cases hel"\v last year. Taking into consideration the fact that the 1913 park was the largest in the history of this industry, exceeding the previous record by fully two million cases, and that no stocks were, left unsold in the hands of canners, it will be seen that tho consuming public have made a heavy call on this article of food. The war is also calculated to cause a good demand. Canned Fruits : There has been it slight advance in American apricots and pears, but the other varieties are unchanged. A good quantity arrived by the Maitai. Tea: The higher price.-; ruling in Ceylon, Java, and London, the short supplier offering in the producing markets, and the decrease in London stocks have been factors tending to harden the market. The Colombo markets are now 6 to 10 cents above last month, when prices for lower grade teas were relatively cheap, owing to freight difficulties. The course of the market, in the immediate future seems to depend on the Russian demand. Russia is a huge consumer of tea, and if the demand resumes its normal volume the course of the market should be upward.