THE BREADSTUFFS AND PRODUCE MARKET.

Otago Witness, Issue 2579, 19 August 1903, Page 19

THE BREADSTUFFS AND PRODUCE MARKET.

Wednesday. The Colonial Oil Oompa«y has again lowered the price of kerosene, to arrive ex J. T. Chapman, which vessel is now due at Lyttdton, and may put im an appearance at any moment. The latest quotation's are now 9gd per gallon ox wharf and 9|d e>: warehouse, being 1 a drop of id per gallon on •the ex wharf price and id per gallon on the ex warehouse price. The agents for the Shell Company (Mosbw Briseoe amd Co.) have received advice thai: tho s.s. Windsor, which left Sydney on the Bth inst., i 3 coming direct to Dunedin, instead of making Auckland her first port of call in the colony, aa anticipated.. The "Windsor brings 60,000 cases of kerosene! of which it is expected that about 20,000 cases will bo landed for this market. The Shell Company's agents continue to adhare . to tho same rates aa quoted by the Colon al Oil Cconpany. ( Sydney advices dated 4-th inst. state that at a meeting of tho New South Wrf'es Millers' Association it was decided to qucto £12 per tanas the minimum for. Sydney roller flour, in view of the high price of: wheat in America and Europe; and £': 2 10s for bakers' lots of reliable Manitoba 'i flour, in view of the recent advance i * Canada and New York. Should the New Zealand wheat marktfc ease a little, co as to enable millers t».:. ship at £9 f.0.b., it is possible that Sydn&j? may take somo of our surplus flour, anc^ thus provide a, solution of the difficult 3, which face 3 the New Zealand Millers' As sooiation in equitably apportioning the outputs of their several clients. Sydney advices also state that cheaper chick wheat is on the market, in the form of imported American grain of second .and third quality. Latest advices from Adelaide aro as follows:—"In the local market but few transactions have been reported during tho mnnth, and only p, very small delivery of wheat has been made by farmers. Somo of the up-country districte appear to havo been quite cleaned out, as the millers'there are buying Argentine wheat in Port Adelaide., and having it sent up by-rail. Ameri' can flour is coming here in considerable quantities, the beit brands of Manitoban being delivered to bakers slightly under the local millers' quotations, while inferior makes aro selling at lower prices. The Mcl- , ! 'bourne and Sydney markets are both re-^ ported firmer as regards wheat, but there are very anxious tellers of imported flour at rates which leave a heavy loss to importers. The offal market has been very dull, and sales of bran were mado as low ! as Hid, but values are now better, and, as many mills are shutting down, holder* are asking an advance. Pollard is in bettei demand, and firm at quotations." Friday. The Australian wheat market keeps steady, and the recent improvement is well main- [ tamed. It is now realised that the supplies in hand and to arrive are not excessive when compared with the estimated require" monta for the balance of the season. I The local wheat market is in a, condition of perfect stagnation. Millers will onlj buy'small lines on which somo inducement h offered. Tho Absence of demand, togethef with tho fine weather and the prospects of the spring threshing, causes the market to exhibit a weaker tendency. The reduetioirr of the shipping price of flour has evidently, beon made in antieircation of tih^ wheat market coming Values, which are practioallv unchanged, range from fc S{ f.o.b. Lyttelton for rod wheat, to 3s lid to 4s on trucks for velvet —according to gradeAccording to latest indications a settle*, ment amongst tho millers is as far distanij as ever, and a fight to a finish is evidenfly in progress. As the result of a meeting ol the directors of the New Zealand Flour*

millers' Association, held recently, the price of flour for shipment was reduced 10 per ton— to £9 f.o.b. With wheat avcragdng 48 Id at mill door and the low prices for offal, this means that no Dunedin mills can shin at this price except at a, serious loss, and it is difficult to se© how even the Canterbury mills can make it pay. Unless the wheat market comes back, this reduction in price is likely to result in some of the smaller mills shutting down and leaving the bigger^mills to fight it out. The local price still remains at £10, but some millers have been giving 5 per cent, discount off this price, which to some extent has disorganised' trade. The New Zealand ' Flour-millerg* Association's tariff is aa follows:— £10 for sacks, £10 l(te for 100's, £10 15s for 50's, and £11 for 25's. The ir&e millers quote the same rates. Millers are ■vending 50's direct to storekeepers at £10 15s,' less 5 per cent. Competition from Canterbury has lowered the urice of offal. Bran is now quoted at £2 10s f.0.b., for shipment, and £3 per ton for local sales. Pollard is selling at £3 5s f.0.b., for shipment, and £4- per ton locally. The absence of orders has caused chiok •wheat to assume an easier tendency, «nd good whole fowl feed can now be quoted at 3s 2d to 3s 3d. There is rather more inquiry for oats from Australia, but so far littl© or no business ,is reported. Prospects of the spring' threshing aro good, more camples are offering, and the tendency of tho market is downward. There is no quotable alteration in prioes, which are largely nominal. Milling Sutherlands are slow of sale at Is B^d; prime B grade, Is 7£d, and medium B's, Is 7d; C grade, up to Is 6d. Danish aro in short supply, and Is 6|d ex store is the current quotation. Oatmeal is unchanged at £9 103 per ton for 25's. Pearl barley is quoted at £H per ton for 25's, and £15 for smaller quantities. The market is well supplied with potatoes, md buyers, being fairly stocked for immediate requirements, anticipate lower values. 'Quotations remain unchanged — viz. : Prim© Oamaru Denve-nts, PA to £4 53; prime Canterburys, up to £3 17s 6d per ton; medium and inferior, £3 5s to £3 10s. The demand for seed potatoes has eased, and kidneys will not realise more than. £3 103 per ton. There is no change in the butter market. The Australasian .reports that the arrivals an Melbourne from Kew Zealand from January 1 to August 1 this year total 25,525; cases, as against 78,034- cases for the corresponding period in 1902. There is no alteration in +he local dairy produce market, and quotations remain as follows:— Butter: Dairy, 7d to 8d; salt, 8d to 9d: farmers' separator, 9d to 9£d; North Island factory, 10id to lld; firstgrade factory, lld for bulk and Hid for pats. • Cheese is firm, with an advancing tendency. Akaroa, 6d to 6id, and prime factory 6id to 6£d per Ib. The fine weather and plentiful supplies have caused a drop in the egg market, •which, opening at Is 5d at the beginning of the week, has dronped to Is Id, with the prospect of Is per dozen being the opening price next week. At this time last year eggs were lOd per dozen. Already forecists arc being indulged in as to the price ■which will bo paid for preserving this season. Advices from the North Island indicate a good demand from that quarter, and at is reported that 30.000 dozen will be taken in Wellington. Reports from the country state that owintr to tho poultry export trade to South Africa eggs will not be too plentiful, and the opinion is held in some quarters that eggs will not go below lOd per dozen this season. On the other Land, it is pointed out that confectioners ore largely U3ing the German preserved eggs, which can bo imported at equivalent to about 9d per dozen, and which for uniform excellence of quality are better value than the local product. Th"c demand for poultry keeps brisk, and the market is firm at: Roosters, 4s 6d to 4s 9d ; hens, 3s to 3s 6d ; ducks, 5s to 5s 6d ; geese. 5s 6d to 6s; turkeys — gobblers Bd, hens 6d. The scarcity of pigs continues. Baconers (up to 1601b) aye firm at sid per 11>, and Sales arc rpported at sjd. Overweights aro ielliuor at 4d to 4^d. In bacon, prime rolls are saleable at Bid, but there is a good deal of bacon offering at Bd, principally country cured. Hams are quoted at 9d to 9s>d per lb. The market is well supplied with chaff, mid prime oaten sheaf is selling at £3 to £3 5s per ton. Straw is in moderate sunply at 27s 6d for wheatcn and 30s for oaten. Saturday. T!se Christchurch Pro-"? reports that the "New Zealand Flcurmillers' A>=coiation has reduced the price of flour from £10 to £9 10s per ton (sack% millers' quotation*.)*

|3o far, however, no advice has been received of a similar reduction in Dunedin. A Sydney paper states that, thanks to the use of hard Manitoba flour, Sydney bakers are enabled to get 10 or 15 per cent, more water into their loaves than used to be tho case when they were using local flour. Despite the effort made to hold up tho egg market to Is Id per dozen, tho price has declined, and sales wcro made to day at Is per dozen, with a prospect of a further drop next week. Monday. The following summary of tho wheat tituation in the Commonwealth, showing an apparent deficiency of 2,343,000 bushels on December 31, is of interest as showing the probability of Australia having to draw supplies of wheat from New Zealand beforo the end of the year: — Bushels. Commonwealth production, 1902-03 12.367,000 Deep oversea, imports to dato .. 10,400,000 Commitments of wheat for Sydney supplies afloat and in the harbour 1,551,000 Flour afloat for N.S. Wales or ordered 500,000 Wheat afloat for Melbourne .. „ 259,000 Wheat afloat for Adelaide .. .. 129,000 Total available supply .. .. 25,209,000 Bushels. Requirements for food.. 22,250,000 Requirements for seed.. 5,302,000 27,552,003 Apparent deficiency on Dec. 31 .. 2,343,000 The above figures (remarks the Sydney Mail) are of necessity in some cases mere approximations, but tho greatest care has been taken in their compilation. They help to somo extent to explain the recent developments in the market. We find, for instance, that the trade has suddenly awakened to the fact that there is not only no surplus of wheat now remaining in South Australia, but that that State will require to import for its own needs. That South Australia's surplus is exhausted 13 a factor of some importance, seeing that with her small population her local consumption is relatively small. For a similar reason her transference into an importing State is of but little consequence, for her needs are small. Victoria is also evidently short of grain, judging from the fact that considerable business has already been done in Sydney for Melbourne account, and further business is pending at prices which make that market much higher than it has been for a good time past. The South Australian harvest is expected to be an early one. Still thero are three full months to run there before new wheat can be expected, and practically four month 3 before deliveries of any consequence will be made in (his State or aoioss the Murray. Queensland seems to bo fairly well supplied with wheat just at present, judging from the fact that she has r.ot been inquiring to any extent for grain, but she has been taking moderate quantities of flour. The position thus seems to have devolved itself into this: that practically the whole of the oversea imports of wheat and flour have been made by Sydney importers, who will be called _to share their imports over tho eastern States~of tho Commonwealth, and will probably be paid a pretty good price for doing so. Once more no consideration has been taken of the carry-over ftom last year. This, in all probability, taking the Commonwealth as a whole, was much heavier than the carry-over into 1904 is likely to bo, on account of the fact that last year a high range of prices was expected to rule at the close of this year. When tho re-.v wheat arrives prices will indubitably " slump" down to an exporting level of values. It will therefore be tho aim of every holder at the close of the current year to olear up his last bag of both wheat and flour prior to"*the drop taking place. Whether thia difference in the quantity brought forward, into the current season and that to be carried forward into 1903-4 will be sufficiently great to neutralise the present apparent deficiency of somo two and a-quarter millions of bushels nmst be pure conjecture. This is ono of tho problems that holders and importers will havo to speculate on between new and next harvest. In this connection sight must not be lost of the fact that a certain proportion of old wheat is required to mix with iho new, just as bakers require some old flour to go with the new. There is a possibility, of course, of Victorian millers and speculators ordering further shipments from Argentina tc meet this deficiency. This, however, would not arrive till perilously near harvest time, and were tho vessels to make a long passage, as has so frequently been the experience during tko present campaign, then heavy losses would probably be incurred. There is no doubt that what strength tho local market possesses at present is duo solely to inter-State inquiries. Were this to cease our local market would probably not be sustained in the almost complete absence of local demand. Were it known that new oaderg were cabled abroad, the effect would in all probability immediately bo felt locally. j

Captain Tucker, of Gisborne, who has leased the Campbell Islands for tho purpose of experimenting in grazing, has now 45C0 sheep running there. The Hmeinoa brought up the season's clip of 64- bales of vioo!. Last year the clii> \i as only 44 balcu.