TRADE IN AUCKLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19753, 28 September 1927, Page 9

TRADE IN AUCKLAND.

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL. LARGER SHOPPING BUSINESS. PRODUCE MARKETS REVIEW. Brighter weather is steadily improving business in the shops, nearly all departments sharing in tho increased patronage. The drapers report that light fabrics are now receiving close attention. Very choice materials are being displayed, with great variety in colours and patterns. Other departments are fairly busy, although the cutting which is going on in grocery and some lines of hardware seems likely to reduce, the net results to the houses concerned. The long-delayed sale of seeds and plants cannot be put oil much longer, and seedsman report that growers are now taking the risk of the weather, as it is getting so late, and this results in much heavier sales. No advance purchases appear to be in progress for Christmas trade, except a few local novelties for posting to friends abroad, but retailers have made a good many of their preparations for the rush that is expected later on, and the wholesale house? report fairly heavy bookings of special iines for November and December delivery.

The wholesale houses have about completed their extra deliveries on October account, and these show distinctly the influence of the brighter outlook in dairy produce, practically the mainstay ami barometer of the provincial trade. The steady advance in prices is most fortunate, for the general tendency of prices, taking all classes of goods together, is gradually downward, and very low quotations in sorae lines ha-ve rather startled importers during the past few weeks. This movement has had one good effect, in discouraging tradespeople from overstocking, and importations have not been any heavier than the prospective trade fully warrants. This leaves tho way open to largei purchasers at favourable rates as soou as trade improves The building trade shows a little improvement, but no great change in residential building is expected until next year, and tins keeps hardware houses rather dull at present. In the meantime business people are quietly making their preparations fot the better business which is likely next year, there being exceptional activity in the construction of warehouses and offices. This is keeping up a heavy demand for bricks and cement, as well as constructional steel, and bricks are still short of requirements. Merchants report a continued demand for household coal, much heavier than they expected. In addition to this heavy call there is now a larger quantity required for the railways, as well as the dairy factories now in full operation. The twines are thus kept busy. IRON AND STEEL. Keen competition tor business ha* resulted in reduced British prices for pig iron. "lhe third quarterly meeting of the Aiiuland iron truUe Viae previous basis price for marked bars, but other descriptions of finished iron gave way a little. The market has been over-supplied, there being a shrinkage of actual consumption, and a consequent disinclination to stock. Very tew orders were reported in structural steels, as it was felt the controlled prices were out of harmony with the new market position Galvanised sheets continue to drop. In America the consumptive demand has bteu kept up by a hug© -building programme, and it is expected this will be even larger this year than in previous years A alow but steady improvement in the general demand is reported but .export trade is naturally hampered by keen prices from European manufacturers. SHIPBUILDING ON THE CLYDE. Recent reports seem to indicate there is a general expectation of improved world trade. It is stated that on the Clyde the substantial tonnage on order should maintain active conditions right through the coming winter. There is a hopeful outlook in the industry, although shipbuilders are not yet able to obtain pricfes . which leave much margin for profit. • The engineering trades are said to be well employed the locomotive works have secured several useful orders. OUTPUT OF MOTOR-CARS. It is reported from Birmingham that ruanuiacturers have experienueu a pio-falling-off in the demand. This is attributed partly to the adverse climatic conditions, bringing shout the period of inter-seasonal slacitness earlier than usual Several firms have been waks'nß extension# to their premises and preparations are in full swing tor next season s programme, in which several new models, especially amoli« the light cars, are likely to appear. The motor-cycle trade has been adversely affected by the serious unemp'ovment, but it is said the export demand remains good. This also applies fairly accurately to pedai cycles In America there is also a distinct falling-off in production, for although some companies show an increase, there was a total decline of 12 j.er cent, during the first sii months of the year, compared with the corresponding period of last year. This has been largely due to two leading manufacturers curt«'ling their output, pending the introduction of new models. One American report states there has been * decided falling off in shipments of cars to Asistnlin during June and July, which the manufacturers could hardly account for, bat they had an .mpreawon the demand would improve when the new <*ars were ready to market.

This reduction in Bt.itish and American hss not tik«n r>la« before Australia and New Zealand were fairly well supplied with cars, for both countries are slrsad? well an in »he. foHowian list show inr the estimated r timber o* i*b*bftae»* to each car >r> the 2S. K*vif>» lh» largest number of motor vehicles:—United S'ate#. 5: Canada. II . Hawaii, 11 New Zealand. 12: Australia, 17: United Kingdom "*- De-nmsrk, 43 Argentina 45; Prance. 4** • Bw**dcti. ftl- 'Pwilzerlflnd 7fj: Belsrinm. 81, Irish Free State, S3; Cub*. $4; South Africa. 9"9: Holland, 107; fins'n. »« Oermanv m ftalv. 294: Mexico. 307; Braiil, 444 Norway, 92*: Dutch Indies, ICMS: Japan. 139S Tnd'-». SSSS EGOS. fri.se ia unchanged at is 7d wholeaale and 'a Sd retail for hen eggs. duck eggs being retailed at la f>d Only moderate supplies are coming in foi this time of the year, and it look* as if these will all be absorbed by the baiters and the ordinary hctuehcld demand. Large Quantities are being preserved. and this demand keeps th» price at a level which holds out no pro* rseet of any export this rear. POTATOES. The market is easier at £ 7 St, ex store, following a decline in ♦he Sooth. Tfct* readily *ook e§e«t fcer« a* the Kurow broaget a large shipment on Monday to a market already fairly well supplied, sod the Wiftgattii is doe at the end of the week with another fairly Urge ehiptasmt Bayer* *r» operating sparingly. «# they see co hope of the market movir.g MMpt down. »*rd. No export t» at all likely, and .there will b« plenty to last for the rest of the season. A better inquiry :« reported as wed pot® too*. Moat varieties are in good atraply. brst a pronounced shortage ft** de'rolcped in Maori Chief, and inline* in the South hare failed to locate any stocks oy ioks Australian repicked are selling »! Ifle, but era*t buyers are trying to hold oS atstU the Acrangj trmst ia a fortnight with the first of the new Canadian crop. Thete si# •elliag to arrive at 19# a crate oats and chaff. fodder pries* have firmed rapidly ©win# to inhume# from Australia broaght about by the drought. Appargßthr the rwsest rain fall ha* sot few® general, put baaiee*# amtlsses. and it ia exported that a good guac tity will be «st a<t*-s* BP.A.V A.VD POLLARD Subetar.tial order* hate &ka bees received for bran for sbiasagai to AaetsalU. the Sarper prod action fcaviog broagfet da»« the !©eal price to J? I Ilia which :# * very attractive ;eve.i for : export. Two lets have gone already Pollard -a £8 nsoderste dots and WHEAT Milling tor fowl feed i* bets® f»patttA frsa Awt raj la to »m*« atotst A* md ®f October It w' beskse to amrt at S# as ii« wharf. BaF.LEY. "The high prira 1m wheat ia fcrie.g-.ag in s better dactisjed for Chevalier feed barley at U. MAIZE. P.er.ty ia arriving, Gabon* grain bei&g as fairly condition, a&d cthera vary.se A fair demand it taking en avpptk*, and racarn; «syfcgr meuta have been ec 44 at a* tow as S* «d. tiers bewsg e tepdeary (r-r local ssio-cjlm to atf-iS ilate.

FERTILISERS. Large sales- continue and - this wiiV He further stimulated by the intimation that manufacturers as now guaranteeing to supply up to the end of January at tho present price. £1 2s 6d for cash. FUNGUS. Fair amouuts are coming iu, and realising lOd tu lid. if well dry. Chinese demand continues fair. kauri gum. Very little white «urn is CO HUB It in. so that sto'cKS are not accumulating, although • tnere is not much demand. .Best quality I reshaped se.:a up tu A lair inquiry continues for iths and J-scraped. and s.nles I sue luuoe at X IoU respectively untile best, quite enousfl coming in to meet inquiries. A fair amount of ordinary is coming in, but the demand is slow. Good sorted No. 2 is selling up to XiOO, while range nuts are moving ott quietly at a: 70. and must be i>old to realise tnat price. Orainary unscraped is flow of sale, but omy a little is arriving. Chips and dust are quite enuUgb for the demand, and sales me recorded at £3O to £'3o. Very little sivunip is being sent in, owing to the difficulty in getting it dry. If it is dry it is possible to sell poor at £26 to A'2i?. and good hearty, chalk up to £BS In black gum rescraped steel ivonld realise up to £lt?0 when thers is a demand, and unscraped brown steel at £BO to £9O. There is no demand for dark 82, although it is nominally worth £32 to £4O. and rather large supplies are arriving. Not much bled bush is arriving, and it sells occasionally, but garbs are hard to sell at £25 to £3O. the same applying to bold reecraped at £l5O to £ ISO. Diggers experience gr?at difficulty over chips, on account, of the foreign matter i contained. In the ordinary way they can wash it to 60 pei cent of purity, and tap ; *o even 90 per cent, on some small lots : However, buyers now insist on SO por cent. I of pure sum, and very litf'e can be brought up to that standard without- special salt : treatment an unprofitable .-etiture when it does not realise any more than under the ! former standard. It is stated thst whereas : diggers could often supply 70 '.o 75 per cent., the extra 5 per. cent makes all the difference in the cost of production, so thev nre inclined to 'wtt this tine alone. Altogether the market is not very buoyant, munufactu'-ers beirc aoparentlv able to ! satisfy their reouirements 'or most numoses with a cheaper substitute elsewhere, sr, the bns rot shown the ncre-<*e that misht have been expected since the lower prices came in From October 1 the export dutv of ! per cent, is to b© paid br th,> diesers. where hitherto it hap hten paid fcv the exporter. MARKET REPORTS. FRUIT AND PRODUCE PRICES. There was very little change in prices at the fruit sales held at the Auckland City Markets yesterday. There was fair demand for good dessert pears, repacked fruit in particular bringing good prices. Some lines of apples decreased slightly iu value. A small shipment of. citrus fruit is expected to arrive from Sydney to-dav. Best dessert apples did not change, selling at from 6s to 9s a case. Doughertys ana Rome Beautys each fell by 6d a case. Oranges did not sell so easily as at last week's sales, Island fruit not bringing more than 18s a case, while poorman oranges did not rise above 12s. Some tomatoes from Norfolk Island met with a fair demand at from 8s to 12# 6d a case. The maximum price of ripe bananas fell to 30s a case, as compared with 32s last week The excessive supply of rhubarb was the only feature of thft field produce sales. The market was fairly well supplied with most vegetables, and heavily with celery, which, however, did not vary in price. Both cabbage and cauliflower rose slightly. Increasing supplies of peas brought tho price down to Is 6d per lb., while hothouse beans, which have remained stationary for some time, also showed a reduction. Hothouse cucumbers! rose from 5s to 9s a dofcen. Good supplies of egps met a moderate demand at the dairy produce sales, selling at the same rates. Supplies of farmers' butter, selling in lib. pats, were still short and met with a good demand. The price did not change. The following prices were realised: — FRUIT. Apples, Delictou*. (is to 9.1 a case; Sturrncra. 9s to X 0«; Granny Smith*, lCs to lis »',d; Doughertys, 6» to 7b fid; Knoe Beauty*, fa to 10s; pears, Neii*. 10s to lis n case; Cole*. 9e to 10«; Coles and Nelis (repacked), 14s to 15s; oranges, poorman, 8s to 12s a cases Island, 17a Cd to IB«rlemons, local, 6s to 10» a case; tomatoes, Norfolk Island, Ss to 12* fid a case; tree tomatoes, 4s to 7s Cd; bananas, repacked, 28s to 30s a case, FIELD PRODUCE Potatoes, Southern, 6s fid to 7s 3d per cwt.: new, 2d to &d per lb., kurnaras, Tauranga, lis to 13s per cwt.: Island, 9b to lis; pumpkins, 10s to 18s; swedes, la to Is 9d a bag: onions, firm, XOs to lCs per cwt,; American, 22s 6d n crate; cabbage, 3s to (5s 6d a sack, on benches. Is to 8s Gd a dozen; cauliflower, 4* to 10s 6d a sack; On benches. 2s to 09 a dozen; lettuce. 3s to 7s 6d a case; rhubarb. 2s fid to 3s Ad a dozen; spinach, 9d a dozen bundle*, leelta. sd to 4d a bundle; spring onions, 3d to &d; marrows, 8s to 4s a do*«n; carrots, parsnips, beet and turnips. 6d to Is a dosea bundles; cucumbers, Hothouse, 5s to 9s aj dozen; celery. Is to 3s Cd a bundle; radishes, Cd a dozen bundles; beans, hothouse, Is 6d to 2s 3d per lb.; peas, la 6d per lb.: asparagus, la to Is 9d a bundle, DAIRY PRODUCE. Hen eggs. Is 7d to 1« 7td a dozen; duck eggs, Jb s id to Is fid. Farmers' butter, in lib. pat*. Is 3}d to Is 6d. CANTERBURY MARKETS. POSITION OF POTATOES. [»* TELHQfiAPH.—I'BESH ASSOCIATION. ] CIiHiaTCIIURCII, Tuesday. £f anything the drab position of tho potato market recorded last week is worse. A good deal of business ban been done in Septembers at £4 10s, and £A 7s 6a in cases, while Octobers are down to £4 15s. The Wingattst this week took 2000 odd sacks from Lyttelton and Timaru, but it is expected that the Walpiata's consignment next week will be a heavy one. In the meantime orders from Auckland are negligible. Inquiry is corning frota Sydney for various classes o'i stock feed— -oats, chaff, and bran. Oats have gone forward in fat? quantity, and more is to be taken by the Waikouaiti on October 8. A Gartous have been selling at 3s 6d fo.b., s i., and B's at 3s 3d, with little of the latter about, A few hundred tons of bran were shipped to Australia by the last boat, bat an advance in the pric« here lias stopped further business. In the meantime Inquiries continue to come to hand from Sydney for c-hatT, but the prices quoted back have not led to any business w far.

| CAMBRIDGE STOCK SALE. | New ZMiantf Lots said M#jc#bUl« Az*.ncj ' Cojapamy, Liaitod, Htuaiitoa, rtp©rt;-~W# j beld oaf asuai (;*xacridg« stock *«<* or. ; Moscuty A Ittli- :r«rdui# o*m» ior«*r«i *,wi I txsnjjxit'iUofl tu bwm th.ros#b*MSV» pmttjj fitlbr »ii to« j?*rdioi Swiss mid. Pntm ««n----i taow«<2 *a iawr«vMMat ou r^orarl { mlm, aiere rattle mtuhttg reidiiy. U*ir* I cattle sold aider *®#ls comWHitios. Stow f st-e* aiM, aoid btta&t tfaaa ku® r*t*# W# j <jueto: Fit eow*. XS 2« (<4 to It st. far > ward *«d «tor« ck*!, t% 8# to £1 Via. } *g*d ««w», £i IO«t to t j It* -. i essjjty he;/er». 13 i'» to £$ &». li-srsoatii* i J«rwr> feeit*r» £ S 5-* to £© s«. Jfr-trantfe* ! Jersey -cro»* h«-.i«r«. £ 3 L£* to £ t ST* Sd. | I3>-Siontfea gWtb&ns <to— fc»sf*r». £3 t0» to ft l"« €d at:.ah IVrra&tstb bwi«r* £} its ;to £2 USi; ?eir::r.g «te<cr*. £2 6* to £2 Ufct. t*o-;«tr ltrwT<rMi ts#;f«ra, |{ M* to £5 11* fid t>«*t dairj jr.*.■.!«?*. £IG &» to £l3. Skortkom < rata b*i'.*rt £3 10* to £IS s#; Fnwir.-rru erJ«r» £s S» to £ IS. tnd I*l* fc*. 'm. £i U> to £t it, be«l i dairy cowa £IS to £ii: t*T':y other*. £$ j to tV) ls#; _»« ed cow*. _t% ll* to *6 S*. I mm* «sd &d?er« ift siUc, £8 l#i to £ll ; • <Mta pig*. £t !l» to £1 !•*: »«p*. IS# to j 3D» W; Vim to \9t *>4; forward **fher*. y*»: ter»#rd tort*! S4« IM.