THE BREADSTUFFS AND PRODUCE MARKET.

Otago Witness, Issue 2524, 30 July 1902, Page 9

THE BREADSTUFFS AND PRODUCE MARKET.

The nheat market is quiet but firm. Millers ar.> operating cautiously, and buying for hand 10 mouth requirements, but they are forced to ply equal to 4s 3d to 4s 4d in ttore, Dune-din, for prime milling; \elvot.

Tho Xew Zealand Flour Millers' A c cC< iationS prices are u.ialti-rrd — viz. £11 10s per ton for neks. £12 for 100"s, £12 5= for 50\, anil £12 10., for 25-; bum £4- 10., and pollard £5 10s.

The Dunedin millers have a grie\anee. in that, while they obtain £11 10= per ton for all flour sold local'y, they have to invoice- shipping pi re els at £10 per ton, whereas the Southland millcr=, who, on account of the extra, freight invohe-d, do 10 shipping business, are taxing fat at £11 10» l^er ton on their entire output It is pointed out that it would be opposed to all economic 1 -: for tho lincrcargill mills to be compelled to ship north, and Otago flour bo tent south to fill orders. A pro posal has been put forward to fix a uniform rate throughout the colony for all floiir at the mill door, the association to pay nil freight and shipping charges, and aftorwards proportion out the coat between the sevornl mills. In this way the flour oould be shipped from the most convenient ports, and it 13 contended that considerable cx-pen-o would be saved.

Amonca.i ael\ices to hand liy the San Frmci-co mail read as follous. —

Wheat.— Th' le his been little change in TV)-' rn"iit from interior points. Export demand \\a= bettc- fcr a while, but has fallen off nvm Conditions continue very favourable, and there .& piomiss vl a full crop, harvesting liu.i-g r.'reaJy ljo^\:n on the southern boicler. Vi = ,ble Eupply hao decreased liberally each week, irid is row cV.\n to 20,0111,000 bushels, but ihis reduction >-eeiiis to have no effect upon 1 r;ces, ;-= the probabi'it^es pre that the new v/l-eat will hi 1:1 the maiket tv,o weeks e«i!ie> than asua'. M«rket has shown some ial!ie=, but dccluiCL have been great_i, ar.d prices aro ' ov, 21c to Cc lovscr ih.'.n last quo'cd, the fc.iicr on the choice ;t d scarce j'r.'des. "We c,i^c No. 1 hard Duluth spring. t=ic, l^o. 1 iificl iianitot* sjprujgj Sic , £0. 1 noiUiera

I Duluih spring, 80c ; No 1 northern New York I spring, 79jc; No. 2 red winter, 87ac. j Flour. — The improved situation as regrrds ! crops ii£"s had its efrjet upon thr> flour market, and x">rices ur« new lower that they iiave been for some weeks, though to-day's figures reflect .in advance of about 10c to 15c per barrel over the lowest prices of ths month. Buyers will not go very far wrong in purchasing their lin•nediate requirements at to-day's quotations, though we look for somewhat lower prices next month afteT the wheat crop has been harvested. We quote spring wheat patents at 3.85d0l to 3.95d0l per 1961b ; winter wheat patents at about 3.90d01 ; winter wheat cleans at about 3.60d01 ; ond spring wheat clears at about 3.20d01. We go from home to learn news, and the following from a New York exchange reads somewhat amusingly: — "Owing to the heavy dra^t on the male labouring population, caused by the South African war, the production of wheat in Australia has fallen off during the past two years, and the colonies have been a liberal purchaser of American flour in consequence. It is officially announced that the wheat area sown in Australia is the smallost in three year*. The production 13 estimated at 8,012,762 bushels. The flour sent from America was mostly shipped from the Pacific Coast. One shipment, the largest on record, was upward of 2000 ton=." The oat market is in a very peculiar ecnI e'.iiion, and it is difficult to say what oats i are roally worth. There is still an. inquiry from Australia, and small shipments continue to be made to Commonwealth ports. I Bu=ine«s has been done at 2s 4d to 2s 4£d j for B grade, f.a.q., but the sellers axe losing money at that price. It is difficult to get at the real facts, but it would not be -tiie first time that would be buyers have offered small lines at bolow ruling rates in ordtr to get the market down to their levpl. There may l>e some explanation in the following roport from the Southland Times: — " It is probable from latest advices that the Imperial Government may still require furj ther supplies, and should another Imperil I order be placed upon the market here, it , would practically absorb all the oats avail- ' able in this district. It is reported that 1 throughout Canterbury and Otago supplies lire also very scarce, and that it would be | hardly possible to get together a cargo of j I good feed oats if such was required by the ■ , Imperial Government. Seeing that we have still about eight months to go before our new crop will _be available, and fully five or six months before any can be available from Tasmania, it is not unreasonable to , Euppose that value* may recover to some ' extent before long." In view, however, of the fact that a ] cargo of oats to fill an Imperial order, and j wljjeh was supposed to have been shipped I some months ago, still remains in store in 1 Dunedin, tho probability of other orders does not appear very great. With a view of inducing trade, whirli has boon slack of late, the ontme-al millprs 1 have reduced the price of oatmeal by £11 — ■ from £14 10s per ton to £13 10s. " j Several Dunedin merchants have put in | tenders for a portion of the 500 tons of potatoes, advertised for by the Government for South Africa, and the general impression prevail, that although only 500 tons wore advertised for, the quantity actually required is 1000 tons. In this connection the Lyttelton Times has the following: — "Local merchants state that the conditions imposed on tenderers for the Government contract of 500 tons for shipment to Pretoria are such that it will be impossible for them to tender. It is pointed out that tenders close on July 28, and that the 01 dor may be required to bo filled within 10 days of the acceptance of a tender. This being the case it would be irnpo-=ible to get the nece-psary cases made iii timr* ; as far as can be gathered, only some 600 to 800 por week could be turned out here, while 10,000 will be required. The conditions aho state that the tubers must j)a=s tho Government graders as they are shipped. It is pointed out that it would be far more convenient to have the potatoes passed in store before being cas^d, and thi3 would en=ure more careful inspee- I tiou, and would not entail the ncces.sa-y re opening of any case?. Again, it is represented that the cases would be quite aa securely held if bound with hoop-iron instead of wire, while the former is cheaper and easier put on."