PRODUCE MARKETS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22210, 10 September 1935, Page 5

PRODUCE MARKETS

POLLARD PRICES RISE DOMINION POTATO CROPS SHARP DECLINE 'SHOWN A rise of 5s a ton in tho price of pollard is the principal feature of the grain and procfucc trade in Auckland during the past week. Markets generally remain firm, especially for potatoes and onions.

Production of potatoes in New Zealand for tho 1934-35 season was 109,123 tons, compared with 131,045 tons in 1933-34, according to the Abstract of Statistics. Tho quantity . grown in Auckland declined from 5352 tons to 4899 tons. The Dominion acreage under potatoes was 23,001, against 25,028. The onion yield was only 5592 tons, compared with 9452 tons, an area of 923 acres being cultivated, against 1112 acres. POTATOES Only moderate stocks of potatoes nre held in Auckland, as yesterday's shipment was under 2000 sacks, and the position is very firm both locally and in the South. Reports from the .South Island state that there, are not. the quantities available to supply the North Islnnd on the same basis as last year, when 42,000 sacks were shipped between the beginning of September tfnd the beginning of November. Although small supplies of new potatoes nre being dug nt Pukekohe, it is not anticipated that appreciable quantities will be available from this source until the middle of October. Through store, Red Dakotas are worth between £ll and £ll 5s a ton and whites about £lO 10s a ton.

There is a better inquiry for peed potaiora. A Southern report states that there has been a keen demand for certified seed. ONIONS The shipment of Cnlifornian onions which nrriyed T>y tlie Monterey went into immediate consumption, and stocks are again very light. Through store prices range from 22s to 25s per 1001b. bag. The first n,iaior shipment of Canadian onionß is expected about September 30. FOWL WHEAT •There is a normal demand for fowl wheat at ob 7d a bushel, through store.

MAIZE The maize market is steady, with better quantities coming forward. Prices ore unchanged at from 4s 3d to 4b Id a bushel, through store. BARLEY Austrnlinn clipped barley in Belling fairly well at 4s 4d u bushel, through store. Stocks, although not heavy, are adequate. OATS AND CHAFF The market for oats remains firm. Through store, B Gartons tire wortli around 4s fid a bushel and A Gartons up to 5 s a bushel. Chuff is steady, with only a limited demand at i' 7 15s a ton. BRAN AND POLLARD A rise of 5s a ton to £7 10s, through store, has occurred in the price of pollard during the past week. This is in sympathy with tlio firm Australian position, mail advices stating that both New South Wales and Victoria nro so short, that supplies will have to be imported. Shipments arrived by the Omana and Karepo during the week, but were required to fulfil forward bookings. There is a better demand for bran. Stocks are light and the market is firm at £6 as n ton. through store.

BARNET GLASS RUBBER

SPECIAL BONUS DIVIDEND DUNLOP-PERDRIAU BENEFITS The Barnet Class Rubber Company, Limited, Melbourne, is distributing £120,000 of its undivided profits to the holders of its ordinary shares (principally tho Dunlop-Perdriau Rubber Company) as a dividend of 4 per cent, absorbing £22,000, and a special bonus of 17.8 per cent, requiring £98,000. The profit of the Barnet Glass Company for the year ended Juno 30 was £45,700, or £12,190 less than in the previous year, and the ordinary dividend has been reduced from 5 per cent to 4 per cent, tho total ordinary distribution for the year being 25.8 per cent. As the 8 per cent cumulative preference capital is entitled to participate with tho ordinaries up to 10 per cent, the final preference dividend has been raised to 6 per cent, making a total of 10 per cent for the year. The Dunlop-Perdriau Company acquired nearly all the 550,000 £1 ordinary shares in 1929 for £BBO,OOO.

SEARCH FOR GOLD ACTIVITY IN CANADA STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY An instance of tho efforts of tho overseas Dominions to dovelop the goldmining industry is provided by the Canadian Government's million dollar geological field programme for tho mapping of prospective mineralbearing areas. The movemont to designate areas commenced in May last when a contingent left Ottawa for Yukon, and early in July tho whole field force, comprising a total of 830 mon, was engaged in carrying out the most ambitious programme yet undertaken by the Canadian Government in its effort to aid and encourage prospecting and mineral development. While tho work of tho parties will tako in the whole range of economically valuable minerals,. chief attention is being given to areas in the Canadian Shield and tho Cordillera, the two geological provinces that provide the bulk of tho Dominion's metal output. In mapping and investigating theso areas primary consideration is being given to geological occurrences believed to bo favourable to gold deposition. So little is known of the geological conditions and mineral possibilities of several of the areas that tho work this year will bo largely of a pioneering nature. Particularly is this the case in British Columbia, in tho North-west Territories, and in Manitoba.

RUBBER INDUSTRY POSITION SLOWLY IMPROVING "So far as tlio future of the rubber industry is concerned, the impression in the East is that the position is slowly but surely improving," said Mr. G. B. Whyte, chairman of the Standard Rubber Company of Selangor, Limited, at the annual meeting in Sydney. "Restriction is being tightened up in every way to prevent any possibility of evasion. Ono of the best features of the restriction scheme is that no planting will bo allowed for four and a-half years, and as there was practically no planting done for about three years before restriction came into force it. means tlicrc can be no increase in production for years to come. Therefore, the future of the rubber industry is practically assured for many years."