COMMERCIAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17729, 13 September 1919, Page 8

COMMERCIAL.

Daily Timea (KB.ce, Friday Evening. A further fctatennent issued on August 14 by the chairman (Senator Russell) of tho Australia® Wheat Board disclosed that 80,000,000 bushels of -whoac ia the pool, excluding the British option, remain unsold, and that tie present overdraft of £17,900,000 will soon bo materially reduced. Tho statement woa as fodows:—■ " THo task of the beoaxl has been of gre<vt magnitude, lot alone as regards the financial transactions involved, but tiJao in. connection with tho transport oversale o{ such vast quantities of grain. Wheat ia « lowpriced commodity, worth hero only a penny a pound. Payments made to growers and to meet expenses have reached a total of £101,250,000. The problem of finance, however, is on'y one of those with which tho pool management has had to contend. During the operations of the scheme there has been rooeivedi for realisation 408,000,000 bushels, or 13,430,000 tons to be held for home sale or for overseas shipment. In. these circumstances, storage arrangements on a moat unusual scale havo had to be made by tho States, and tho Wheat Board has boon confronted with a task of tho utmost seriouancßs to provide freight. Tho future, howovcr, looka more hopeful. "Assuming that tho British Government ererciscs its option of 500,000 tons, tho total overseas sales will have amounted to 7,500,000 tons. After allowing for consumption in Australia to .the end of the year, and tho prospective business n-iw in view, we should at the end of the year have total unsold stocks, according to tho book figures, of 50,000,000 bushels. At present it ia impcosible to say how much of this 30,000,(xi0 bushels has been rendered unlit for shipment, and how much lias entirely disappeared. "The following shows tho present and prospective financial position of the pools: — The present overdraft of tho board is ... £17,200,000 SubsUintfcl reuucLic.ns of this amount will be mado by deliveries ot wheat already sold. The latest sale to the British Government of 1/000,030 tons will realise 10,267,000 Other overseas sales effectod for which payment is to bo m-jde, including sales to New Zealand, Koiwoy, Egypt, Greece, and Japan, will result in further rcoeipts of 3.270,000 In addition, if iilio option of 500,000 tons is exercised, as appeara likely, there will be further payments amounting to •- 5,133,000 Total ... .£18,670,000 "The above does not includo future Homo sales, which are estimated to bo from £500,000 to £550,000 per month. The first payment of £2,500,000 has now been, made by the British Government, which will have tho effect of reducing the overdraft by that amount Negotiations are now in progress as to further payments on account of the contract." No milling quality of wheat is changing hands owing to the Government restrictions, and business amongst merchants ia practicallv confined to fowl wheat, which is soiling' at 63 2d t° G3 3d per bushel, sacks extra, ex stqre, with a good demand!. New Milling Wheat.—According to Government prices: South Island, 6s Bj,a, f.0.b., sacks extra (plus ljd brokerage and Government commission); North Island approximfitely equivalent to 7s (plus l£d brokerage and Government commission). Prices of millers' lines are aa follow — Flour, £14 10s; bran, £6 10s; pollard, £8 10spearl barley, £25; oatmeal, £25. ' The demand for oata from Australia has been apparently fairly brisk, and the market has hardened. Sales of about 5000 sacks have been made this weak to Sydney at 4s Bd' for As, f.0.b.G.i., and 4s 7d for B's. These prices have enabled merchants to pay growers 4s on trucks for good Gartons, and a fair amount

01 busmesea has to be recorded. There is a good demand for seed oats, which are now being secured by growers for eprmg sowing. Reports from Auckland state that "stocks of oats oa hand are sufficient for local requirements, ciwi as far as local supplies are concerned there ia very little inquiry Prices in tje south havo firmed considerably during the last few days, and quotations rango from te 6d to 4s Bi f.0.b.5.1. for B Gartens for September delivery, whilst sales have been made at 4s 6d for spread September-Decem-ber. Only limited quantities are being offered even at this pnoe, and it is difficult to state exactly what the cause of this firming actually Reports from Auckland under date Sep--1? r ® state that there has "be&n considerable speculative business passing- lately in Ail anes of seed—Ryegrass, Italian, Chewing&'s Rescue, ana Dogstail perhaps excepted—and pricca accordingly are very firm. Red and volute clover, alsike, and timothy are keenly sought after, and now cocksfoot has taken an upward bound, to-day's quotation for 16-17lb

cocksfoot being approximately Is Sid f.o.b. south. An isolated sale, however, took place at Is 4*d for December-January dePRODUCE REPORT. Small consignments of chaff have been sufficient to weaken prices. For good quality £G 15s per ton, sacks extra, ex truck, is full ya.uo to-day. No shipping business is passive* as Blenheim merchants are supplying the northern demar.d. Medium and inferior chflff is in over f>"u T >p]v, and as sales cannot bo effected ex truck, this quality is being 6tored in the meantime. An Auckland agent reports under date Sep' tember B:—Tho chaff market is well supplied, nu. there ,'s very little business passing, lhe last two or throe boats from Pictcn brought up largo cargoes, and the consump tioii is now falling off consequent upon there being more green food ..Tillable. Prin-.o "Blenheim is quoted in the region of £8 5s fob Picton, spread to tho end of tho year, whilst ±vangiti.iei 13 offering at £9 5s f.o.b.a.i. Marten. horn inquiry was made from Australia for chaff foT shipment there, but no 'Teat business resulted. There has been loss activity i n the potato marker and as heavier supplies havo been arriving the market shows a weolieninc" tendency. Tins should bo only temporary, as stocks m the north are not over plentiful, and all lo=.al requirements will have lo be drawn from there. The price to-day for Mod quality is £10 10s per ton, socks included, ex s-.ore. Jledium and poor is unsaleable until picked over. An Auckland agent reports under date September B:—There Is just sufficient stocks of potatoes on hand for requirements, and i rr au £. a ?'' ua . today brought 3000 sacks and the Kaiapoi an 4 Mokoia will also bring further quantities during tho week' Prices here are lower than tho southern paritv, as sales have been made as low as £10 5s to £10 10s, the latter being equal to £11 5a ion ex wharf, ex the above-named boats. lo<iay s quotations rongo from £10 15s to £11 f.0.b., but merchants here are not prepared to buy a,o theso prices. Ilia season for old pota.c-ea is now drawing to a close, and if tnis line weuther continues we should be having m leas than eix weeks' timo ample supphtQ of new potatoes to supply the wants oi t.lis market Small isolated* lots of new potatoes .laveabeady been sold, here at 4d dfff t, + C<W ' ? ourse > made no A ■* SV ver market. As a result of the lateness of tho growth °Lj^ asa , th( ; rei . ls a demand for oaten Si.ra\\, which is now quoted .at up to £1 per ton oil trucks Dunedin. Wheaten etnaw is m fair demand at £3 10s a ton. • *i? co weavhsr. h?.s caused a falling oil a* little BUPP 7 ' and Prices have firmed , ieß ( of <Jair 7 but tea: ore quite unobtainable et present. Supplies of bacon are short, curers experiencing a difficulty in obtaining pigs Current wholesale prices are as follow- — extra " &2dtofe 3d I>eT bushel > sacks Potatoes £10 10s, ex store, Dunedin, for prima quality.

Chaff: Prime eaten sheaf, £G 15 S; mo dium arc! poor quality, £4 103 to £G. Onions: Canterburye, 203 per cwt: Cal ; - formans, 37s Gd to 40s per crate. Oaten £3 15s; wheateu, £3 103. Sta.rn.paJ, Is 6d; ordinary, Is 5d Lulter: Jxill-sd, bulk, best, la 5d to Is 5?.d----&ep»ara,tor psits, to Is 6d. ~ ' Jlargarine, Is 2d per lb. Pigs: Baconers, Sd per lb; porkers, Old. I,Til l IoIk '„ 13 3 i d !b i is 2Jd, local ham rolls, Is 4d to Is 4Jd. FRUIT REPORT && xassi is. zsus Gd per Prime dessert a-pples are in short supply, ajid higa pncce rule for anv lots available tow prime cooking sorts *re ccming iorTvriTu, stocks consisting chi-ciiy cf utt-T thnrd grade quality, Snd theL arMafd to +l t T in i?n 01 , RaTot bananas arrived by tho John, bamg transhipped at Wellington from tho Tofuu. The John also brou-ht about 100 cratcs of onions, « lofun. Theso oniona were in excellent order Advice to hand states that tho Navua is bringmg a fair quantity of oranges. She also picked up a lino or bananas at Wellington, brought from Fiji to Auck and by the Taluno and railed througu. As tho market is baro of bananas these should meet with a rcadv eale. ' Tho market is still ohort supplied with cabbages, parsnips, and carrot 3. Ca-uliflowers aro plentiful, but havo mot with, such a keen demand that prices have advanced considerably. Current wholesale prices are as followDissert apples: Practically nothing but a few Sturmers coming forwaid. Prices ran»o from 15s to 17s for best; others, 9s to IO3; cookers, 2Jd to 3d per lb for prime: others. IJd to 2<l por lb Oranges: Poormin3 for marmalade, 2is io 25s pe- case; American Valonci-as, -15s to 503 per double Adelaide, ISs to '22s 6d as landed. Baaanos: Rarotongas, 18s 6d to 22s Gdgreen Fijis, to arrive Monday. ' Lomons: Auckland-grow-n, 35s to 40s; Californian, 78s to B(te por double cose. Cabbages: Very few prim© offering. Cauliflowers: Medium, 83 to 10s per sack; piiiao.

lis to 12a Cd per sack. Carrots, Is to Is Gd per dozen bunches; small bags, to 5s per bag j sacks, X' 7io £7 10s per tan. Swedes, 2s (id to -Is per !; 53 to f>:> Cel. Potatoes: Local, lis Cd 10 lii per cwt. Khnimxb, l>4 Gil to 7s por dozen bunches. Celery, la to Is Ad per bundle for beat; medium, fd (.<> lOd. Bruafcln sprouts, 7s to 93 Od per box. Parsnips, .'ls 0d to 00 per l»g; 14a to Its per sack—wnnkd. Cucumbora, 1-is to 16s per dozen, according to quality. 0 iniIjBOUItNE MARKETS. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. MELBOUItiVE, September 12. Barley: English malting, 5s Od, 6s; Cape, 4a Ml, 4-s lod. Oats: A 1 gerian. milling, os 6d, os 7d; feed, 03 3d, Gs 4d. Potatoes, i'l'2 l(te, £11 Onions, £12, £12 10s. •

anusTcnußCH JIARICF/TS. (I'kji U.mteij I'iiEsj Association. ) CIIRISTCHURCH, September 12. Tho v/lieat murkot ia still quiet, and littlo or no business is being transacted. Oato hava firmed a little, but very few lots are c£E-;ring, and fanners do not soem at all keen to d?al, presuming 'hat they ore holding lines. The priccs for outs, therefore, are more or lens nominal. Merchants are offering from £9 to £9 Es for potatoes, but hoidero do not 6cem willing to trade at this price. AMERICAN IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. Tho foreign trado statement of tho "United States for Juno shows aguin_ a largo movemeat of merchandise and a heavy exce&s of exports over imports. The figures for Juno are: Exports, 918,212,671 dollars; imports, 293,069,77'J dollars. Fcr the fiscal year ending Juno 30, 1919, tho figures are: Exports, 7,221,744,785 dollars; imports, 3,095,873,101 dollars. For tho year the excess of exports over lmixjrts is 4,123,871,681 dollars, us compared with 2,974,0>5,9DS dollars for tho previous year. IRON AND STEEL. •Messrs John Dunn, Son, and Co. report from Now York under dato Autrust 4 M follows: — The lisi month has seen a rapid change in the iron and steel situation, and as this is written it would seem that we are on tho evo of a general advance in prioo with increasing difficulty in securing shipments; already, in fact, prices of wire and wire nails have advanced quite materially, and the market for euects, tubes, and bars is nnn, with every indication of an advance in tho very near future. Buying for domestic consumption peema to be increasing every day, and tho demand from eomo parts of the world, notably South America and Japan, is increasing rapidly. As vet, however, tho main factor in tho advance is the domeslio buying, which seems to bo bused on tho gen«<ral belief that prices aro not likely to go lower for some time to come. If present tendencies develop as th~-y seem likely to it is probable that within a couple of months mill'} will find it very difficult to take care of current orders for prompt shipment and the question of delivery vrill be tho important _ one. Should serious labour difficulties arise it would seem almost certain uiat by tho last quarter of tho year or early in 1920 anything like prompt deliveries will be very difficult to obtain and) tho chances of a decline in price by the first of next year are negligible. -o» CLEARING SALE. Messrs Stronach, Morris, and Co. report having held a clearing sale cn behalf of Mr Thomas li. Pugh at Ngcpuna on tho Bth mat. There was a gcod attendanco of buyers, but owing to train rostriatiens these were confined! $to tho district. Competition, taken all round, was good for the cattle, horses, and implements submitted. Tho following are soma of the pricea obtained:—Heifers (spring calvers), £7 to £11; cows, to £9 2s 6d; thros-ycar-o'.d bullocks, £13 10s; two-year-old steors, £3 10s; draught geldings, £18 to £26; spring-cart mare, £18. The implements and furniture gold at satisfactory prices. -o»—— — PROPERTY SALES. Messrs Alex. Harris and Co. offered by auction yesterday a freehold property at Normanby, fronting Norwood street, comprising 1 rood 2S poles, with a six-roomed house and a 6tablo The sale was under instructions from tho trustees in tho estate of Mi's Mary Heads (deceased), and bidding was keen. Mr A. Watt was the purchaser at £112 10s. Messrs Park, Reynolds offered by auction yesterday a small freehold property at Monilagton, with <1 three-roomed house (llavelock street). Bidding 'started at £100, and rose to £152 10s, at which price Mr David M'Nay became tho owner. .

DON'T USE HOME-MADE CALF FOODS. Pollard, rice meal, linseed moal, or moiosses may bo cheap enough, but tho standard by which to estimato cost is tho result of tho food, not the prico you pay for it. Judged this way, homo prepared foods are far dearer than " CBKEMILK," which costs a little more in tho first place, hut ensures highly profitable results. Pollard is unreliab'i?, anil rico meal contains a lot of dust and indigestible fibre that causes scours. " CEREMILK " contains nothing that cannot ba readily dicestod j it is absolutely pure. Mr R. M'Alirter. Tasmania, says:—-' I think it is a splendid lood; tho calves took freely to it and throve immensely." At all Stores and Factories or Fleming and Co. (Ltd.), Box 24, Gore— Advt.