COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18022, 22 February 1922, Page 5

COMMERCIAL.

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL.

GOOD BUSINESS REPORTED.

THE PRODUCE MARKETS.

s The wholesale houses are busy thii ! ( week with orders for March account, am .. travellers are bringing in fairly cheerfu reports. Buyers are operating carefully t but the total turnover is good, thougl naturally not equal to tho boom period, j Retailers are still very busy with th '6ummer sales, and most houses report : very satisfactory clearance. Drapery is beginning to receive mor attention, both wholesale and retail, 01 account of the partial recovery in prices s Every week cables are being received wit] e intimations of slight advances, which in e dicate that prices are now becoming mor 0 stabilised and that the days are now ove which saw manufacturers cutting dowi iheir prices to any lovel that would elfcc 1 a sale. Their stocks aro now apparently * low enough to enable them to quote on i I fair margin of profit, and it must be re membered the overhead expenses have no ' been reduced. On the same scale as somi 3 of the raw materials. Tho latter have re cently recovered to a great extent, an< j this has enabled manufacturers to rcstor* j more normal conditions of trade. A no ticeablo feature in recent importations o J drapery is the preponderance of Britisl goods. Their inherent quality, t-ogethci with the tariff advantages over Japanesf and other foreign goods, bids fair tc throw an increasing proportion of th< trade into British channels. Local milh are busy, and are meeting the lowei prices ruling for imported goods, so thai ' there are no accumulations of stock. 1 Dried and Canned Fruits. Dried Fruit.—Apparently there will be good crops of iliidura currents and sultanas, bo theio will be no necessity for un--1 porting any Mediterranean for the next few i months. Prices are not yet fixed, i Canned Frilits,—Buyers are beginning to operate again more freely. Stocks in Frisco are light, and local are getting into small compass. Eesin.—Market is down again, and .this line is at last Quoted at the pre-war price. Tinplates,—Manufacturers oj tinplates advise that at present level there is a very amaH margin and prices are mor© likely to advance than decline. , Motor Spirit.—A reduction of 2s per case is advised in all descriptions. Kerosene.—Oil-engino kerosene is down Is per cose. Potatoes.—The market is. still over-sup-plied, so that it is most difficult to PjMe all the consignments coming in. Best quality are Quoted at 7s 6d to 8s 6d ex store, but poorer grades are being worked off at very low rates. Tho Southern inarkot is very weak, and merchants appear eager to book orders for spread delivery. Onions.—Tho feature of tho market is tho extraordinary demand for shipment to Vancouver by the Niagara. Bookings already made last week were sufficient to make thlß a record shipment, but lurthor cabled ordors c'amo to hand on Monday, and space was also found for these. Fortunately large supplies have come in during the past few days, and these met a ready market at full ratos. The unexpected continuation of booking for Vancouver naturally hardened up the market again, and the price ex store is now firm at 10s, which is equivalent to the shipping price. Cereals and Products. Oats.—Local stocks are not very heavy, and the price is unchanged at 4s Gd ex store. There is a good deal of controversy over the market prospects of the new harvest, as so much depends on the yield when the acroage is less than last year. It seems to be established that a larger proportion than usual will be Algerians, so that white oats will bo in fairly short supply and these varieties are already a little firmer. , , ~ Chaff.—Southern is rather scarco at the moment, and quotation to-day firm at 9s 3d to 9s 6d ex store. Larger _ quantities ,of Rnngitikei chaff t aro beginning j to arnve, and this grade is selling at about 8s 6d. Local is unchanged at £6 10a m truckloads at the station. Wheat,—lt does not appear to be quite settled yet whether tho new price is to come in on March 1, or a little later, but local mills havo _ already made one reduction in anticipation of the lower price at which tho new wheat is to rule. Fowl wheat is scarce at presont, merohants, have curtailed their purchases of old gram, and nil consumers are using up old stocks, ready for the cheaper article. Tho break in tho weathor a month ago will probably be found to have caused a laTger proportion than usual to be more or less discoloured, so tliat fowl wheat will probably be more plentiful than it has been for years. Hie first shipment ia alroady on the way from Lyttelton. and is being quoted .to arrive at | 7s 6d to fis, but still lower prices, are expected when the whole harvest is in. Discolouration never adds to the attractiveness of whoat, but this year it Beemß that there will be a still worso. fault, a lot of grain being shrivelled up with tho dry weather in the oarly summer. Tho rain unfortunately came too late—a month earlier it would have swelled out the " golden grain" to a record yield; coming late it haa probably done more harm than good. Flour.—Selling better smce the reduction was announced. Bran and Pollard,—Both are getting a little more inquiry sine* prices wore reduced, but bran is not required much whilo pastures are in their present state, and the total sales are not very heavy.

The Maize Market. Maize.—Best quality is realising 4s'9d on the wharf in wholesale lines, Sales, have kept up during the high price of • fowl wheat, but the demand will no doubt fall off next month. 1 Fla*.—A littlo is being shipped away, but there is not much inquiry. Kauri Gum.—Very small supplies of Bast Coast are now coming in. and rocent values are well maintained. White gum is selling well up to the peak prices of a year a,go. After a period of dull trade in bush gum a demand set in, ard prices have advanced about 5 per cent. Most swamp grades fell about 5 per cent., but the floods in the North last month effectively reduced supplies, and prevented a furtner fall. The difßcultv with gum is that, as a result of heavy purchases on behalf of the Government, the prices have all been forced up to a high level, and shippors will not buy unless they actually get cabled orders from London or New York, in response to cabled quotations. Production has fallen off since the Dalmatians left the gumfields, in spite of the fact that gum is about the only product that maintains the boom prices of a yoar or two ago, and the question is whether tbe maintenance of ft high price will permanently injure the trade, by forcing manufacturers in Britain to buy cheaper grados, such as Congo gum.

AUCKLAND HIDE SALES.

BEST. GRADES IN DEMAND. The beat grades of hides and skins were in good demand at the Auckland hide and skin yesterday. Boat cow hides brought from 6d to 6}d per lb.; light ox hides realised from 6Jd to GM per lb, and medium from 81d to 10! d. Heavy ox hides made from lljd to 12d, and a few picked lines brought up to lid. Calf and yearling skins sold better than at the previous sale, best grades of the former bringing from 15d to 181 d, while yearling and kips made from IOJd to 14d a lb. Second grades were at a comparatively lower value, due to the recent drop in values on the Sydney and Melbourne markets. The best quality of sheep and lambs' skins and pelts sold at from 9d to Is, Id each, second grade Cd to 9d each, Dried skins made from lid to 2}d per lb, and weavil-eaten and damaged from }d to Id per lb. For damaged and faulty pelts there was no market.

BRADFORD WOOL MARKET.

Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. (Reed. 6 30 p.m.) LONDON. Fob. 20. On the Bradford wool market Mo business Is reported and values are easier. G-l's being quoted at 4s.

WAIKATO STOCK SALES. - The Farmers' Co-operative Auctioneering Company, Ltd., Hamilton, report as followson stock saies henl in the Waikato last Week; beef la Jamy steady although vaJlies ior prime ouality tend upward. Supplies are fairly plentiful. Mutton values have fluctuated soraewnat since our last report, ana are now a little easier. Expovtors show an indication to reduce quotations. Lambs also appear to have reached the summit of value. Export buyers have not mainta.ned the vim which characterised their operations a tew weeks ago. Better yaru'mga of store cattle are met with everywhere an 3 prices have improved. At present, however, a steadying influence is apparent, and further increase appears unlikely. Some very good sale's of grown steers have been made with the result that many more are being drawn to market. The yardings of young cattle, especially calves, are noticeably small. As was anticipated, the rise in 6tore sheep wac too sharp to be lasting, and values in all classes have steadied. There is still, however, a good honest inqu.ry, and breeding ewo3 especially meet with good competition. Lambs have eased considerably in comparison with sales a fortnight ago. Pigs have entered in a period of improvement. Porkers and bght-weigLt baeoners are in keen demand; indeed, all classes work out much ahead of factory limits- The demand for horses is slack in accordance with the custom at this time of the year. Naturally not many good animals are being marketed. We quote:—Bullocks, heavy prime £7 to £8 sa, medium £6 to £6 10s; cows, heavy 14 56 to

£5 10s. medium £3 to £3 15s, forward £1 16s to £2 10s; steers, 31-yoar best £4 l£a to £5 10s, 21-year boat £3 to £4; heifere, 2-year 8.W.8. £4 to £5 15s; cowa, stores £1 to £2; steers, 18-montbs, best £1 12s 6d to £2 5s 6a, medum £1 6s to £1 10a; heifers, 18-montha, best £2 10s to £3 6s, medium £1 103 to £2 ss; calves, heifers £1 to £1 7s 6d, steers 12s fid to £1; wethers, prime heavy 19s to 22e, medium 16s to 18s 6d; ewes, prime 133 to 17s ; wetherß, 4-th Btore 13s 6d to 16s 6d, 2-th 12s to 13s 9d; breeding ewes, 2-th 15s to 17s 6d, 4 and C-th 15s to 18s 6d, 4 and 5year 14s to 17s, F.M. 0s to lis 6d; rap© lambs, woolly and shorn 10s 6d to 13s; store lambs, 7s to 10s, small 3a 6d to 6s; pies, baconers £3 to £1, porkers 35s to £2 15s, roo<l slips £1 to £1 10s, weaners 7s 6d to 15s; horses, heavy draughts ,£3O to £46, | medium draughts £25 to £30, light draughts £17 to £20, harness horses £8 to £15, hacks, £6 to £10,

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Ltd., Hamilton, report:— We held our usual stock sale at Cambridge on Monday. Heifers in calf, _ 18-rnonths Bleera and cows in forward condition thowed better values. Ewes made about late rates. Store pigs advanced, Medium fat cows made £3 15s to £4, cows in forward condition £2 12s to £3 4s, fresh cows £i Ka to £2 Bs, store cows £1 to £1 10s; 16-raonths to 18-montlis steers £1 13b to £2 ss; two-year-old Shorthorn and Friesian heifers in calf £4 128 to £6, Shorthorn weanor heir'ers £1 Is to £1 4s, Jersey cross we&ner heifers £1 16a; steer calve 3 12s to 18s; bulls £1 to £1 7b Gd; fat ewes 13a 4d to 14s, twotooth ewca and wethera 19s, three-year to five-year-old ewes 12s lOd to 13s Id, cull eweß 4b 6d to Gs lOd, store lambs 7s to 7s 6d; bacotlerg £3 3s to £3 sb, Btore porkers £1 15s to £2 Gs, slips £! 2s to £1 10s, weaners 6b to 9s. At Hamilton on Saturday the horse sale was a small one. Medium draughts made from £22 to £26, light spring-cart horses £15 to £18, harness cobs £5 to £7 10a, hacks £7 to £9, ponies £1 10s to £3.

FOREIGN EXCHANGES.

CANTERBURY PRODUCE MARKET. [by telegraph.—press association.] CHRISTCHURCH, Tuesday. Little attention is being concentrated on wheat. A grade Gartons aro from 2s 3d to 2a srl. The wheat returns from North Canterbury continue generally to be disappointing. The oat market is scarcely as firm aa last week. The possible Australian outlet has not developed. Latest information from Sydney is that there lias bosn a weakening. The barley position is somewhat obscure. Really good samples of Chevalier have been sold up to 4b for the North Island. On the other hand the offers being made, by merchants are very much less than this. Good perennial rye-grass is worth to fanners from 2s 9d to 3s, and inferior 2s 3d to '2a Gd. The cocksfoot crop though disappointing, is not as bitd as was reported recently. There will be a fair yield, though much of what has eo far come to hand is poor, tne sample beins musty and discoloured. Values to farmers are 4d to 45d. The potato market has slipped bade and quotations for main crop are now about £3 7a fid to i' 3 10s a ton. It iB understood that the blight in South Canterbury has not developed very serionslj and reports from other districts are that the past few weeks nave been very favourable to growth.

Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. (Reed. 5-30 p.m.) LONDON. Feb. 20. Tho following rates on foreign exchanges are current to-day, as compared with the cabled Quotations on February 16 and par:— Feb. 20 Feb. 16 Par. New York ,. Idol 39o 4,35f 4.868 Montreal .. 4dol 53c 4 54 4-866 Paris ., .. 47fr 83c 60.35 25.255 Berlin .. .. 976m 875 20.43 Stockholm 4 . 16kr 60ore 16.65 18159 Christiania • • 26kr 26.80 18.159 Copenhagen .. 21kr 12ore 21 18.159 Calcutta .. Is 3|d Is 31 d 2s Hongkong .. 2s 6id 2s 6id — Yokohama .. 2a 2]d 2s 2d 2a Old