FINANCE AND TRADE

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1618, 4 March 1903, Page 68 (Supplement)

FINANCE AND TRADE

The trade difficulties that have arisen in the United State® over the Hispano*A m erican war, it is admitted, have proved hard problems to solve. Both in Cuba and the Philippines the production is largely aimilar to that of the Southern State® of the Union hence interests are very conflicting. t>n loth December la*t the reciprocity treaty Ibetween the United Statee and uoa was made publio. The treaty provides for a reciprocal reduction of 20 per cent, in the rate® of duty on merchandise of cma country imported into the other. On a great variety of staple articles Cuba grant® 25, 30 and 40 per cent. reduction. American, Porto Rican and Philippine tobaccos, however. ara expressly barred from the benefits- of the reduced tariff: The ratifications of the treaty were to be exchanged at Washington before dlst January, and go into effect ton days after tH® exchange, continuing for five years. unless after the first year Cuba finds 'its cusnceesions excessive under the new tariff law which the Republic is to enact. In thk case it is provided that negotiation* may be reopened with a view to securing modifications of its terms. Our cable messages indicated that the United Statee are pressing to be allowed to establish four ecaling depots in Cuba, whilst the latter are prepared to give two. Cuba from its position, it must not be overlooked, to a. certain B extent oontrols the Carnbean Sea, and to keep open communication with the Isthmian Canal it is absolutely necessary that the United'States should have the means to safeguard the trade of the new waterway.

The Adelaide Milling Company estimates South Australian shipments in January a* 558,721 bushels of w'heat and 51G5 ton* of flour, equalling 21,086 tons of wheat. The quantities in January last year were 364,686 bushels of wheat and 4693 tons of flour, equalling 16,054 tons of wheat, or 5829 tons less than for the month just closed. In considering the figures for January, 1903, it should be remembered that by November last nearly all the 1901 season’s South Australian wheat had been cleared, and that the heavy shipments (Oi 1 639,291 bushels of wheat and 3491 toils of flour in December belonged to the present season, and these amounts must bo aocounted for when judging the present season’s crop, the total of which up to 31st January was 1,198,012 bushels of wheat and 8656 tons of flour, equalling together 43,682 tons of wheat.

Swift and C'o., the great Chicago firm of meat packers, etc., reported sales m 1902 of £40,000,000 of its products. The capital of the company is &0,000,000, and after paying 7 per cent, on this the net profits were sufficient to enable another 6 per cent. t.o be carried to surpus account. Swift and Co.’s products for the year included: Lard, 298,046,9001 b; hides and pelts, 104,510,3901 b : fertilisters, 154,606,4301 b ; oil and stearin©, 51,316,0601 b; soap and washing powder, 40,629,7991 b; tallow and grease, 35,569,6131 b; and butterine, 13,721,0491 b.

Homo metal brokers’ opinions on the market differed considerably at the opening of January. Messrs Vivian Younger and Bond thus wrote: —“The market has been run up by bold operators, and the hears have covered liberally, Much of the movement has probably been initiated in America. The price is now at a high level for the article, judged on its merits, and though 11 " ~ L ~~ ~~~~ " ~~

a continuance of aggressive driving send the market still higher, the inevitable reaction will sooner or later occur.”' Messrs Lewis, Lazarus and Son gave the following opinion:—“The actual position of tin is probably stronger now than it has been for years past, as side by side with the reduction in stocks in public warehouses or afloat the hidden stocks are unusually small.” Markqb movements (so far have supported the latter view, hut a reaction is expected in many quarters after March.

A statement recently published by the bulletin of the American Iron and Steel Association indicates that of the 15,878,354 tons of pig iron produced by the United States during 1901, 6,803,988 tons were produced by the United States Steel Corporation and and 9,074,376 tons by independent companies. The total pig iron production of Germany in 1901 was 7,856,149 metric tons, and that of the United Kingdom 7,982,647 long tons, making the combined production in these two countries in 1901 15,600,000 long tons, which is slightly less than the 1901 production of the United States. The figures showing the production of these two countries covering the first half cf 1902, which havo just been received by the Bureau of Statistics, fully justify the statement that the production in the United States in 1902 will also exceed the combined production of England and Germany.

j Writing on the . wheat position, , “Dornbusch’’ of Bth January says:— j “Wheat.—Tiio trade moves along very ' quietly, with only slight and infrej quent changes in value, the chief in--1 spiration to steadiness coming from America. There the 'markets are skilfully handled by organised tactics. -<ot only in this country, but on the Continent as well, attention is riveted on Argentine and her possibilities in the way of export—latest cable advices reiterate assurance of the fine quality of the new crop, and this excellence is corroborated by offers guaranteeing a weight of 621 b to 6241 b per bushel. It is mm oh too early in the season to express anything like a confident opinion as to the surplus likely to bo available for shipment from La Plata ports', but. having regard to the estimates of reliable people on the spot, it is not too much to expect shipments to Europe in the current year of between 6,750,000 and 7,250,000 quarters. In 1902 tne output for this side of the world amounted to 2,456,000 quarters, and in 1901 to- 3,754,000 quar- ( ters —the last year of big shipments was j 1900, when, according to our cabled ad-J vices, the clearances reached 9,239,000*] quarters, and in the year before they went to over 8,000,000 quarters. Ex- j ports are hindered by a recurrence of j fabour troubles among the freight hand- : lers on the quays and in connection with the railways. It is probable tnat in the prospect of plenty of employment j by reason, of the largo wheat and lin- j seed crops, and a prospective heavy j maize yield, local labour leaders ate ©n- j deavouring to secure for their fellows a larger share of the golden shower which ] is expected to descend upn the country, j