THE RYEGRASS MARKET

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7027, 15 January 1910, Page 3

THE RYEGRASS MARKET

; ' FUTURE PP..OSPBOT3. . . -J A; report from preland -having been circulated to the effect tliat there , was likely, to be a short.• crop of .ryegrass there, 1 -Messrs -Birraud and _ Abraham. Ltd., sent samples and quotations of Sandon ,ryegrass, seed to the leading- Irish seed merchants. Replies, are now beginning to come to hand, and the result of the inquiry is not very, encouraging. We have to-day seen (says the Palmerston "Standard") a, letter .'from-, one of. the ;firmsin question,', and the following ex- • tracts' from it Will' bo of ■:interest , to farmers. —"We y -bad already, received !your name as large "shippers of grass' seed. Qurf crop has turned put abetter "than most people expected, and will be •fully .10 -per cent, larger than last season"; prices now ruling for perennial are, .from 14s to-17e per owt for farmers* best .seed," so that' we.fear there is no. chance' '■of-' business at present. Early in the season a considerable quantity of South Island perennial, was sold to' Scotland and Ireland at about 16sner : cwt c.i.f. Liverpool and Glasgow; afterwards prices advanced ; to 18s, 19s, and' 20s, but came'

down again when tho Home maikets opened np. Wo'do not think your seed nould bring higher prices hero than the South Island quality shipped. In any chsc, shipment in February would . bo too late for our spring trade, and would need to be low to buy to hold over." Prom this letter it will be seen that it is striking that the estimate ot the Irish crop was so much out, and it is Tory evident uio Sandon ryegrass, cannot compete wirh Southern rye unless the prices generally ruling for the former are enormously reduced, prujes now ruling in Ireland being Ms; to 17s per cwt—equal to about.2s, 6d to 3s 2d per bushel. Moreover, it is even now •too late to ship in. time for their market From the information to hand it is evident that locally-grown ryegrass must be marketed in the Dominion under present circumstances.