NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE NOTES. (From Our Own Correspondent.) London, May 22.

Otago Witness, Issue 2210, 9 July 1896, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE NOTES. (From Our Own Correspondent.) London, May 22.

WOOL Last Saturday the third series of wool sales for the current year came to an end. It iv estimated that about 70,000 bales of New Zealand and Australian wool have been held over for future sale. It would be idle to ignore tbe fact that the general condition of the sales has been characterised by depression, and that a distinct decline in prices, ranging from 5 to 7k per cent, for best qualities and to 10 per cent, for inferior descriptions, h is to be recorded as a general result of the auctions. At fiisb it appeared as if nothing worse was to be apprehended thnn tho mere reaction after the possibly undue inflation of the Match sale 3, but then came two unfortunate features in the situation. In the first pace, American bidding' virtually ceased ; secondly, supplies poured in with unusual copiousness. With the two adverse conditions of restricted competition and excessive supplying to contend with it was inevitable that the market should weaken, aod it did. About midway daring the:course ot the sales a number of large holders of wool flatly declined to sell at the prices which had then become current. This cau ed a contraction of the programme, and had the effect of temporarily stimulating bidding to improved activity. This was specially the caso in regard to the higher -classes of msiino wools, which distinctly recovered sjnie portion of the value they had bet. The best crossbred wool fared similarly, but inferior c'»»ses still fared badly. Coarse lustrous types of wool came very near to holding their own and maintaining March rates, in consequence of the still prevailing fashion in favour of bright haired fabrici. And toward the close of tho sale there was undoubtedly a slight general improvement as compared, at any rate, with the lowest point reached during the sales. It is believed that heavy stocks of wool are hold by various firms that might have been expe'eted to be large purchasers at the late sales, but it is es.timated.that these must be diminished, if not extinguished, by tbe time the next sales begin— namely, on the 30th prox ; while it is therefore believed that in view of the better tone of American trade brisker competition from that quarter may be looked for. Writing to me on this question, Messrs Chailes Balme and Co. say :— " The more marked results of the recent fluctuations in prices are apparently due to a congestion of supplies of the raw material, consequent upon the coincidence of direct colonial imports. The upshot has been that during the series the market has been deprived of a considerable amount of tho support which it usually receives from the foreign section of the trade." From MtS3rs Hchnuth Schwartz 0 , aud Co.'s latest price lis l -, I ftad that New Zealand wools are quoted as follow :— Scoured superior, la 4§d to Is 6 r l ; scoured variety, 1« 2Ja to Is 3}d ; Fcnued inferior, ll^d to lsljd; greasy superior, 9Jd ti> 10J ; average, 8d to 9i ; inferior, 6id to 73d.

DAIRY PRODUCE. In the dairy produce market a state" of complete collapas nt present prevails. There is little Now Zealand butter in the market, and this is perhaps just as well, for the prices at preEeni; are very poor. Finest Canadian creamery butter is quoted at 745, and Dutch at GOa to 6o'j. Now Zealand coloured cheese only brings 34s to 383 ; white, 38a to 42a. However, tho New Zealand butter Eeason is now virtually over, and the depression in this branch of the produce trade will not greatly affect the colony. THE MEAT TRA.DE. -*I find that many of the -London butchers are strongly opposed to the bill now before Parliament, which provides ' that produce shall be marked so as to identify its place of origin. They have been doing so well in buying New_Zealsnd meit at 4d and then Bulling it at Is as best Welsh or Scotch, that they not unnaturally "equirra " at the prospect of losing this most profitable branch of their whole trade. But I Kead hardly say that they do not put the rase in this way. What they say is that if the bill becomes law, they will be iv . danger ,of being fined for selling ineatiinder a false name, although it might have beon quite impossible for them to ascertain what its origin was, That is to- 6ay, they urge that they might buy meat in perfectly good faith as Home grown, which might nevertheless prove subsequently to have been imported, and so they might get into trouble for misrepresentation. To this view of the case everybody who knows anything at all about the matter simply says " bosh." No butcher, after he had been a week in tho trade, would have the slightest difficulty in knowing the difference between the two, and mch a mistake is virtually impossible. However, the butchers have formed a committee to watch their interest in the matter, and a deputation on their behalf to the Minister in charge of the bill is spoken of as probable. There is no material improvement in the New Zealand frozen meat market. Best Canterbury sheep bring 3d to 3id per lb, Otago 2gd, Wellington 2id. An effort has been made to obtain better prices, but the continued arrival of damaged sheep has had a depressing effect, and no definite advance can be quote). New Zealand lambs are arriving In enormous .numbers, no fewer than 70,000 having come in two days, being brought respectively by the Rimutaki, Maori, axd Aoi-angi. They were really needed just then as supplier were running short, so the demand being brisk ptiees havo not been lowered i by heavy arrivals. Best qualities are worth up to ,5d per lb, but only the choicest qualities realise this price, and such qualities, are rather sc»roe. .[ Ordinary good quality lambs are worth 4Jd to 4}d ' or thereabout ! Another attempt is being made to place New Zealand frozen beef on the market ; some 1300 - quarters having been brought by the Aorangi. I j am afraid the experiment will not prove a ' success. American chilled beef is bo plentiful

aud popular that frozen beef will not find it easy to get a footing in the London market. Little of the Aorangi's beef is sold as yet. A few hindquarters have gone at 3d to 3Jd per lb, and some iorequarters at 2d. Such prices I fear cannot pay shippers.