SEED POTATO MARKET.

Otago Witness, Issue 2668, 3 May 1905, Page 21

SEED POTATO MARKET.

(Field, March 18.) The mai-kefc for seed potatoes is at present characterised by an oininoiis want of excitement and reckless enterprise. The only feasible interpretation of the comparative oalm is that the boom which raged last year has come to an untimely end. It might hay*. been expected tihat the agitation would 'have contiaibed ugxtil the planting season

was over, but for weeks back little has been heard of fabulous prices for the fancied new sorts, which six months ago were fetching several sovereigns per lb. Whether or not the absence of reports concerning new transactions is due to the fact that growers had procured febeir desired supplies months ia advance it would be difficult to cay, but we think that there must lie other explanations of the noticeable change, that has occurred. While it can hardly be pretended that it is a bad thing for the potato-growing pursuit' at large that the inflated demand and prices have subsided, there must necessarily be a certain "amount of sympathy for those who .have procured stocks at abnormal rates, and who from %U appearances stand a poor chance of escaping loss as the outcome of their enterprise At the same time, probably few are surprised at the collapse of the boom, as in our opinion it never had sufficient solid foundation to justify confident expectations that it would endure beyond a very brief period. Nor possibly a2-e there many who regret that the somewhat imprudent recklessness has subsided. for there was very little of the" healthy commercial element in the ridiculous prices current for a few of the more noted varieties ■during the aiutumn and winter. The sums that were readily paid while the boom was at its height jonstituted a temptation to indulge in fraudulent practices, which, according to rumour, many were unable to resist j but, whether that is the true explanation or not, it seems evident that the supplies of even the newest and most cherished sorts are more than equal to the demand at the " present moment. Although the boom .may have died the natural death peculiar to its srrecies. it is highly probable that its end has"been accelerated by the deplorable state of the com3nercial potato market. Growers in many parts have still large quantities of last year's bountiful orop on hand, and, notwithstanding the -admirable quality of the tubers, they are at the present moment to be regarded as an almost unrealisable asset. They oan be sold at a price, it is true, but the figure ia that- of the purchaser, and not the seller, and accordingly is hopelessly inadequate to afford the producer a reasonably prospect of recovering the cost of production, let alon© the profit which he has a -perfect right to look for. No doubt when fclie rage "for newvarieties was agitating the trade last autumn and winter growers were anticipating a better result from the harvest of 1904, but an oversupply has altered the situation, greatly to their disadvantage, and it would he passing strange if in the light of their marketing experiences they could maintain the enthusiasm -and enterprise which were so conspicuous a few months back. There is nothing permanently di courasring in the present state of the markets, as the potato trade is always keenly susceptible to disturbing influences such as may occur in tfie relationship of supply and demand, and for this reason it often happens * that a light orop proves the more remunerative It ww<kl be nothing out of the ordinary if a year hence- the experiences should be in striking contrast to those of the present season. Everything depends upon the condition of this year's harvest — that is, the gross quantity of potatoes grown in the country. Last year, as it happened, there was a combina-tion of an increased area and an unusually large yield per acre to depreciate values, and the result is now being witnessed. As potatoes cannot be kept over from ore season to another, it does not follow therefore, that the existing level of prices will continue beyond the marketing period for laM year's crop. It is true that: nowadays very large quantities are imported from the Continent, but the state of the heme supply is still the dominant influence in controlling the demand and prices, and, with the disappointing results of last year's efforts fresh in their mind, farmers wiD naturally be inclined to plant smaller areas this year, and this, unless the season prove? exceptionally productive, should have tlw effect of restoring the markets to a inon normal and heaTthy condition.