TRADE OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19405, 13 August 1926, Page 9

TRADE OF THE WEEK.

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL. THE DAIRYING INDUSTRY. PRODUCE MARKETS REVIEW. No improvement is noted in general trade, although every fine day brings a fair numbei ot shoppers into town. The wholesale houses are slow in all departments, and are eagerly waiting for the spring demand to come in. There seems every promise of this being earlier than last year, for instead of the backward season, daily reports are being received in regard to the very favourable spring. Dairy cows are coming in, and the pastures are in such good order, as a result of the mild winter, that there is already a flush of milk, so that the August supply should be quite a good one. Although the local pric« of butter was reduced a penny per lb. this week, the London market is a little bettor, in both butter and cheese, chiefly cheese The rise in the price is quite nominal, but the increase in the demand is taken as a fair indication that old season's butter will be cleared off the market before the new made gets there. This will be a very favourable turn, after the dull trade of the last three months, accentuated by the strike reducing the demand, and the wet weather in the Northern Hemisphere increasing the supply. However, dairy farmers are buying everything very sparingly, until they know the final returns for last season, and' this is keeping business dull in the dairying districts. Even the fertiliser orders, which were coming in very heavily during the dry spell in July, have fallen off a good deal lately, but this is attributed to the hope of getting in at the lower costs, which are expected shortly, when prices of freights are tc be adjusted. The Island steamer has been loading during the week, taking the usual assortment of local produce, but not much in imported goods. Better steamer service te Sydney is responsible for a larger share of the trade going there, in addition to which schooners trado regularly with San Francisco, taking copra and other produce, and returning with stores, which were previously largely bought here. AMERICAN CONDITIONS. Messrs. Mailler and Quereau, of New York, make. the following interesting comments on American trade:—"Building conditions throughout the country are showing a decided increase and improvement, which means a much larger demand for supplies of all kinds. The railroads are having the largest business in their experience and they are buying freely of all _ classes of goods. The automobile companies, after a short period of falling-oS_ in demand, are again showing a decided improvement and new cars are going out very freely. The output this year, it is espected, will show an increase of nearly one million cars and what becomes of all of them it is difficult to understand. "It was thought that, owing to the labour troubles in England, and particularly the coal strike, there would be a shortage of supplies in all classes of goods there, and that a larger demand would follow for goods purchased in the United States. This, however, has not proved to bo the result except in a few instances. There has been some demand for coal, but not nearly as much as was expected, and at present coal charters are not very numerous. It is difficult to forecast the future, but present indications are that the last six months of the' year will be favourable ones." DESICCATED COCOANtTT. A further small reduction in indent price of bulk has been received, and quotations for all other packings show corresponding advances. At present the market on spot is not heavily supplied, but further shipments are due almost immediately. JORDAN ALMONDS. Forward prices for both 26-30s and 3034s are_ considerably above rates quoted earlier in the season, and on this account re-selling rates for Christmas deliveries will tend to be higher. Spot stocks are practically nil", as the demand at this time of the year is always very light. SAGO AND TAPIOCA. Final bookings for both lines were at much higher rates than opening prices for August, direct Bteamer, but. at the same time showed decreases on last quotations.' Local prices must, therefore, be comparatively high, and will, no doubt, remain firm on these new levels. PINEAPPLES. Indent prices for second quality lilb. cubes would give a landed cost which would nearly approximate prices now quoted for this particular grade, and it is expected that when shipments of new fruit arrive at the end of the month prices will materially advance. PEPPERS.. Latest quotations for raw peppers show fractional increases in Sarawah Montos white peppers, while black peppercorns have also advanced Id per lb. The alterations are, however, too small to materially affect prices for repacked ground white pepper. CANADIAN FISHERIES. ' The summary of last season's catch,, recently issued by the Bureau of Statistics, Ottawa, demonstrated the 'outstanding: lead of British Columbia in the deep-sea fishing industry. The total Canadian catch was valued at £4,850,000, a gain of about £400,000 on that of the preceding season. Of this amount British Columbia contributed nearly SO per cent., with an output valued at £2,321.000.. Nova. E3cotia is next, with £1,395,000, and New Brunswick third, with £593,000. Salmon was the most important branch of the industry, contributing £1,485,000, a gain of 25 per cent, on last year's output. Next in_ order were cod, lobster, halibut and herring. CALIFORNIAN CANNED FRUITS. "When the mail left San Francisco the canneries were planning to work at full capacity for the season. The biggest pack is always of peaches, and this year it will probably be somewhat larger than last. If there is any material increaso in the pack of one of the fruits it will necessarily be at the expense of another, since thfere has been no notable increase in canning equipment during the year. The heavier pack of peaohes may therefore result in a somewhat smaller pack of pears than the record quantity of _ 1925. This has been suggested m the action of the California Pear Growers' Association, which *.t first named £lO and £6 a ton respectively for No. 1 and No. 2 pears, but later reduced the pric«3 to £S and £4 10s respectively. The average cannery price for pears during the past four years has been about £lO 10s a .ton, which orchardists say is at least a profitable return on good producing trees, although not profitable on marginal production. This year No. 1. canning peaches are bringing £8 a ton from the Canneries for the bulk of the offerings, with a somewhat lower range for those who were'late in signing up. With the good crop in sight, this is. expected to make a profitable season for the peach man. POTATOES. The surplus has ail been sold, and merchants are now working on store stocks at £8 to £0 10s. The price next week will depend on the quantity arriving, any oversupply probably keeping the price unchanged, while a shortage should bring about an improvement. ONIONS. A fairly heavy shipment of Japanese arrived by the Ulimaroa, the major portion being required to fill contracts, and these have now been delivered. The quality is first-class, and the price 23s a crate. Further weekly shipments are expected to arrive, so that there should be no difficulty in meeting future requirements. OATS. The price has firmed about twopence to threepence since last week, due no doubt to some small inquiries, but local merchants are not seriously concerned about it, as the demand is very small. CHAFF. A steady demand is comipg in, and this is being met by Australian at £ll, and Southern at £l2 10s and £l3 for Canterbury and Blenheim respectively. WHEAT. The market is very firm In Australia, so that there seems no possibility of a fall here. Merchants have so far been working on a lower cost, but these stocks are fast diminishing. Quotation is firm at 9s ex store, and this is likely to be maintained, as there is no possibility of securing' cheaper supplies in the South Island. FLOUR. The market is still waiting for a further move in Australia, the present local quotation remaining at £2O 15s in sacks. BRAN AND POLLARD. Both are in good demand, and as the recent rise in Australia has been maintained, it looks as if there may be some difficulty in securing supplies at a reasonable price for the rest of the year. MAIZE. The scarcity and high price of wheat is accentuating T the winter demand for maize, and fortunately rather better supplies of good quality new grain are now arriving from Gisborne and the Bay of Plenty. These are realising 6s 6d to 6s 9d on the wharf in wholesale lines, according to samples. GRASS SEED. More interest is being taken in seeds for the coming season, especially in view of the difficulty over the Englisi harvest.