NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE IN LONDON.

Otago Witness, Issue 2318, 4 August 1898, Page 14

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE IN LONDON.

(T?uom Ui-u Own CoRHEsPONnr^T.) | Londox, June 17. j WOOL. ' Messrs Charles Balme and Co. inform me this wee 1 ! that there has been no actual change in | the situation of the \xool market. The impioyel tono lately noticeable in the in.uiufactium^, di--_ tricts is well niamtpnied, and so iai as merino i won is concerned piices show a haidcniug teni dency. Crossbred wool i& in liottei demtuid, and I mail.? a small impiovemeut o;i the lowest point ; ! values, however, aie still dciv.essed by the large supplies, both aclu.il and prospective, of this das, of produce. 1 Yc&terJay the foiulh seiics of public &.des of ' v.-oollcd shecp^nns of the x>reejnt yeai was held, i the catalogued qu.mtities comprising 3220 bales, ! of which 026 bales wore iioru Xcv/ Zealand. ! Tliere -nas the usual aUendance of buyers, who 1 operated with considerable freedom, especially, I I learn, for full-voollcd moiiuo and the finer ' giowths ot cios&brcJ pro "nice, which mailrcd an ' a]spieciation o£ 5 per cent. The following are the quotations ad compared Vith the prices enri rent at the preceding sales held in April lad,- — ' Full and ihrce-qiiartcr-woolled merino, Id per lb dearer; shoit-woollcd merino, id per lb dearer; shorn, xuichangcd; full and three- ■ qnuiloi-woolled fine crossing, id pci lb clearer , i full and thrce-cuiirter-woollcd coaivc ciossbrcd, lUichaiigcJ ; short and &hoiu crossbred, uni changed. ! The fifth series of sales is fixed for the 23th of next month. SEW ZT.ALA.ND MEVT. Although there huve been no arrivoh of sheep from New Zealand during the past foitniyht, 1 Messrs W. Vedclel and Co. tell me that stocks , of Noith Island mutton cue l.ari; h;.ivy, but i that very few Canterbury and Dui.rclm sheep , are obtainable. "The scarcity of prime C'iintorj bury sheep," they &ay, " is more pronounced than ever. In fact, ?o shoit is the puppy tii-\t dealers find gieat diftkulty in siipph mg their usual customers with t-uilablc 1 -heej7. Anything really prime, avpi-rging about COib, has bcou* rcrlising 4d per lb, while foi C'aiiterburys of similar weights 3^l pir lb c\n be made. Cantoil.iuys, 61 to 7'2lb, have boon vi good demand, but, nnfoitunately, like the «niail aivl mediumweight descriptions, there are no quantities on offer. The best of these have sold at 3UI to Bgd per lb. Extra heavy Canterbury theep have not been selling so well during the pa&t fortnight, and although 3d per lb has been mode for a few of the be f, 2] pei lb has had to be accepted for , the nipjoiity. There me le^y fc.s ' Dunc\lin iwA Southlan'l shecj) pvti',j able. A H)i:,!l Jol of mctlnim-wcight sheep liaie sold well at V-\d to 3^l i>er 11). Heavy gr?des at 2id to 2 r "d per lb, according to quality. | JNTorth Tihind mutton is not so firm as it, wj>=; at | the time our last repoit vas i:«ucd. Snia'l j ftlieep can now be quoted at no more ths.n '22d in j 2id p<n lb (the lattex" piice bcuj; ci!p\cull: (o ; obtain except for p few\ whorea-. a W.uKfhl aun j similai muttcn v.:t- scllini; rcndily at ?~<l nci lv. ', Large sheep are al=-o esisier, pncl in fey.- ca°os can ai)ylhfng over 2^d per lb bf> made." i Stocks of Kew Zealand lamb in store, vthile j jiot lienvy, ore, ko Messrs Weddel write, sijffi- ' i cient to meet the requiiemeiit? of the trade.' The 1 Tokomaru is still discharging, but owing to tbo I'iunerous marks ar>cl coa^-i^nec 5 !, progress i? '; very slew indeed. Although the dem.ui'l i-- nolj quite so brisk as it wi« a "ortni^ht ago, it = ii 1 ! I continues good, and more has been clk]io"3e<l of j during tho paH fortnight tann uv the corres- J i povding period of last year The undevtone is I | good, pjkl v;ith Ihp l.irgost proportion of ptorltg ; ! in firm hands it is thought th?t llito i<s little j \ 1-kehhood of price-. <-ivir,rc wnv to vny c\t,-i]t , witl.-in (h^ near futur" Best C.ut^cibiuv Jn'r.b, I h,f\e cn !d re-'di'v. nr-d foi- the best ("■•".cbpFe 1 rniiil'i •PA to 4-' d r-j. lb lias Ijth made, al- , tiiou-h n io\\<?\- pvwihev have rc.'.li.-'cd J sd per lb. I Goo 1 C.intribinvfe, other th.^n 3*lc)jpsc, lia'ic , bc.^ i mnkiu" 4\<\ to I'd per Ih. at w'p'cli prices j coi^uloj-nblo quantities have been DunI c.1;,-! :"; n cl South hind births nre in rcquc't at <Jd i to -i^d iior lb. ficno:allv spe.iUma, conclude i Messrs Weddol, tho quality of lamb 1 ; rcei-ed [ fiom jNTow Zealand so far tins s-o.'.soa complied j voiy favourably v.ith former yenr-. j Fo> New Ze.ihrd beef tho tiade is -\riv slow, i | and with consignments split up n»;o.>£> various ( {ig^iilt!. all of whom semi anxious in rouli^o, tho ' j nut l ooU is not voiy promising I\les-n WedI cVI and Co fjuntf Xov ZwiLirtl hind-quart -i-=i 1 at 2:;-l to 3;d per lb ; forc-quaiters at 2d to 2 id i per lb. | ! The C. C. and D. C'omnnnv fell me there i^s I u'tlo cl.^iao in the moiket foi A'ow Zc.i'imd I Tiu'ito'.i. Ti.ido hn.-> br^n dull, they epv, <in(l tho ab'jenco of eacjern^^s to pir-!i c ales hn^ i plo.ip pievept"fl a fall in v?luc« Stocks a.c [ not he.iv", find tha 1-ngest holdcis h-ne been! 1 content with a rather lestvicted output, so that price < might, be nifiiufcnined. Prime unit-! ton is very wrcc and m demainl, and a fair ' amount would find buyers at higher priccj I thiiii have been made for mnnv month=. ' I "Referring to New Zealand liimbs tltc same firm wiitcs- "Seven hundred thousand six hundred and sixly-ono lip.ye now been received, or 124.35G moia thai; c?ioc to hand at tlio sania

d\te la-t year. A f.Mbvght ogo pi ices havd"neJ cOi'-iideivbly, arrl tiioio w^s a fair promibe of v s'ttisf'.ci'fr}' fl ni-.h li the sbason. out thc-'je cxpfctalionsi have not boon ica-hsed, and prices have fullen \t\ to Jd per lb, with several weak holders inclined to lorce sales. Prom lad to 'lid per lb obtainable for a few days, best Canterbury lambs can now bp bought at lid per lb, and offers to sc!l at Jtd per lh aie leportod. Dunedin lambs have gone from 4\d

per lb to 4 id per lb, and do not bc'l freely at that price. The sudden change from the bright summer weather of last week lo the

vAmoib x\intiy cold of this has told against demand, and consamption has been cousiderably leslncted.'' Messrs TJ. S. Fitter and Sons note to-day: '" 'J^ic most remarkable feature in the A'ew Zealand mutton l.aclc just now is flic grent diffeicnco in price between Canterbury nration and most othei brand.s (South Doivns ex-cc-i/Lod). The rause of this is the scarcity oi the fotmcr. IJuycrs aie getting tired of paying the large cliff eience. in price, and many o£ them aie giving up buying the Canterbury mutton, and they are the more inclined to do this in consequence of tho poor quality of many of the sheep lately to hand. The demand for New Zealand lamb is satisfactory. Large lambs aie shorter, and are making good prices; nwnj' of them are being used for mutton."

:,[jscKLLA!;r,ous\

Quotations for Now Zealand oats aie practically nominal. The demand has been very quiet. A small trade has been done in New Zealand beans, but at slightly easier rates — namely, 3?>s to 31a per 5011b. No New Zeal? nd flax was offered at tins v cck's auctions, but some business has beeu cloxiG privately at JS3O per ton for good, c.% stoic, but at the close the market is quieter in sympathy with Manila. There is no AuckInnd llax on the inaiket, neither is there any common. Fine Wellington is quoted at £28, good Lytfcelton at £30, and tow at £7 to £S per to a. For pieseived beef and mutton the demand continues active, and prices are firm. Corned mutton meets with a ready sale at about 233 for Gib t.ver tins. Compressed corn beef in all sizes is,, .so Messrs Weddel tel! me, in good icquest, notwithstanding the high rates demanded, but business is limited owing lo biuall supplies offering. Dining the past fortnight the tallow market hai piesentecl a maiketl contrast to that previov&ly cxr>eiionci-cl. At last week's public wic;, Piter the \Yi)H=iiHhdc holidays, there va^ a \riy lv-tiiL-tod clcnu-ntl, and out of 3013 ca- \; o^^lcd, c-iy b7f> casks v.ere sold, aUa awr.igc decline of Ocl per cwt At the time this vas attributed to the holiday feeling that; still existed, and a icne\\al of the clemandwas confidently looked fot. But s>o iar, Messrs Weddel suy- "This anticipation has been falsified, au.lV tho public sales held on tne 15tix inst., for which IGGO casks were catalogued, not a sirglo cp.bk was soid — in fact, not e-. en ouc bicl was mocle. It is difficult to account ior this extraordinary slate of things, although, ife is tiuo, the Ameiican market is lower, and the Home-melt is plentiful. There was also a, speculative clement m the recent activty, especially in South American soits, and this has now disappeared, but liotwithstpuduig these circumstances the statistical position of Au^tialiaa tuul New Zealand tullow is as biionj* as ever, and uauer oi'dmaiy conclitiona a. ienc\/al o£ the dumand cannot long be tielryecl, though r.ome dechao m values is not iiiiUkcly before the trade becomes aclivo fi«ain. Xothing hr.s recently been done ioc arrival." The following are the nominal spot; quotations.— Mutton- Good to finest, Sis &cl to 25s pev cwt: dull to fun-, 2Js to 23, i Cc( per c«t- iuicrior. s!i& yd to 22s Gd per cwt. Beef: (!oo'd to finest, 22s Cl to 23-- Gd per cwt; dull to fair, 21s 9l! to 21s 6d pel cv/t; infeiior, 21s to 21s 6<l poi cwt. At the last auctions there wss only o small supply of salted hides but for these thevo was a firm demand at good latcs. The next sales of labbitskms are announced lor tho 24th inst.. when about GOOO bales will be offeccd, but as no sales have been hold dvu-ing the fortnight and no transactions are repoifed, thoiv is nothing fie^h lo say this week about rubbitskins.