TRADE IN AUCKLAND

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23228, 23 December 1938, Page 7

TRADE IN AUCKLAND

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL; ' '[ RUSH FOR CHRISTMAS RECORD TRADE ANTICIPATED 1 The final rush of shopping for Christ-! mas is now at its peak, and retail shopi" keepers report that business has exceedingly heavy. Although a certain* amount of early purchasing was made,-, the last-minute rush is as great as All indications point to a record of Christmas trading. The general' opinion is that business is-even brisker than in tho previous two years, but a. true guide will not be obtainable until after tho holidays, when commence restocking. Tho wholesale trade also has been unusually busy this week, although orderi aro now beginning to slacken. Most of tho houses will be working with ton staffs from to-day, which will bo capable of dealing with urgent orders*. Tho bulk of the business was expectedto be finished yesterday. Exceptionally!? heavy clearances have been made, and-, all lines have been in demand. Lj Indentors, however, are almost a£" a standstill. There has been practically no buying since the import restrictions, wero announced on December 5, and thero has been a cessation of inte/--hotiso buying. As practically no import licences have been granted yet, merchants expect that numerous lines will bo in short supply, as it will be impossible to land further supplies before' present stocks are exhausted. While* the Christmas rush has occupied most of the merchants' time so far, the posi4 tion will be felt when stocks are beingreplaced in January. ~,-j

FISH AND MEAT PASTE ; -i The wholesale price of one brand of fish and meat paste in 4oz tins, usually retail-* ing at Gd a tin, has been reduced by 3d dozen. CANNED PEAS It is reported that supplies of canned peas packed in New Zealand aro likely to be short again next year. On© factory ha 3 already ceased to book orders. GREASEPROOF PAPER After falling- during the past few months,the overseas market for greaseproof paper has, commenced to firm. Prices are stronger an<i> already one manufacturer has announced an advance. Lj rice Australian millers have announced that quotations for table rice remain unchanged.' Orders are still beinpr accepted for delivery at buyers' convenience over the next three months. ,r WHITEBAIT The packing season for whitebait has now closed and most of the pack has been booked for overseas orders. A small quantity was held back for local consumption and is being offered to merchants. No further supplies will bo available until next season. TAPIOCA .'-'i Quotations for tapioca have been steady in recent weeks, although a reduction of 2s (id a ton on medium pearl has been announced, Prices are the lowest for a qonsid-' crablo period. Australian shippers state thzrt the market is stagnant, with low values ingCANNED TOMATOES Supples of canned tomatoes are short on the spot, and a further small shipment whicli arrived last week has sold particularly well The new season's crop of fresh fruit will shortly bo available in good quantities, although absence of sunshine has delayed ripening. DRIED FRUIT • f Stocks of dried apricots are now short 'in' Australia, and even supplies for home con- . sumption are reported to be difficult to obtain. A small shipment of Australian and Call-" fornian prunes arrived during the past week, and are meeting with a ready demand, .-cui BEANS Cablegrams just received from shippers-oi-Madagascar Lima beans state that,the shipments of the new season's beans. leftMadagascar on "Wednesday. It is expected that these will connect with, the Tasman. which is due at Auckland about February 13. The local market is practically bare of stocks, .nd this shipment will, be raosti' welcome. TEA The quantity catalogued at this week's tea auction at Colombo amounted' to 2,500,000UiThere was a less general demand, the market being barely steady, especially for meditnb and good broken orange pekoe teas. Quality generally was very useful, with no-country teas showing a slight falling off. Owing U the Christmas holidays, there will be no s&le until January 10. " r " FRUIT PULP - •>? Prices were declared this week for Tasmanian fruit pulp, packed specially for jammaking in filh and 30oz tins. This line ha* become increasingly popular in recent year£ Considerable interest has been evinced by buyers, although owing to the import restrictions and the uncertainty of the method cf their operation, not much business has bwn done. However, good tentative orders ha.o been booked. PROSPECTS FOR HONEY | WEATHER AFFECTS PRODUCTION^ Prospects for this season's honey crop are only fair, according tp reports froni Government apiary instructors. On account of the unsettled weather and high winds little ing has been done, while at this time , last year a good quantity of honey already had been packed. The season in Auckland and North Auckland is about a month late, and production is expected to be below the average. The rain stimulated pastures sufficiently .to encourage an ample amount of early bloom, which, however, may not continue over a long period. Tl\o benefits were offset by a considerable amount of wind. Similar reports come from South Auckland, /where fair to medium crops are posi sible with the return of good weather.•< !An average yield is expected ! Hawke's Bay, 'but in the j and Taranaki districts rain and high winds have caused severe losses of fly ing bees, seriously reducing the forag ing force of many apiaries. V WELLINGTON WOOL SALE CHEQUE FOR £349,523 [BY TELEGHAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Thursday The results of the first Wellington wool sale held on December 7 have been compiled by the Wellington Wool Brokers' Association as follows: — Offered, 23,890 bales; sold, 22,737 bales; passed, 1133 bales. The net weight of the wool sold was 8,283,4241b. and the gross proceeds were £349.523. The average price per bale., was £ls 7s 2d, or 10.127 d a lb. MINING NEWS YIELDS OF COMPANIES Molyneux (Central Otngo).—Two weeks ended December 17: 4902. in 245 hours. NATIONAL MUTUAL LIFE As a result of the transactions of., the National Mutual Life Association}" for the year ended September 30, the j sum of £1.583,603 was added to the assurance fund, which amounted to,, £44,158,325 at the close of the year/' The investment fluctuation fund now amounts to £1,335,000. j The total income for the year was £5,801,953, which included £4,034,407 i" for premiums and £1,767,546 for in-** terest, after deduction of rates and taxes. Policy-holders or their repre- i sentatives received £3,602,85S from the* association during the year. The assurances, excluding bonus in force at the end of the year a amounted to £11,027,800.